The Black Ops series
by Zac Attack
Summary: This is a story for Resistance: Fall of Man. It follows the tale of Karl Manex, leader of the X-ray Black Ops, who pursue Hale throughout the game. The first chapter is set in York, right at the start of R:FOM. Enjoy and make sure to leave comments!
1. Black on Black

Karl looked out from the Black Ops VTOL doorway, below York was strangely quiet, but to the East he could see the bursts of gunfire and smoke of missiles as the Landing Forces engaged with the Chimera. He would have given anything to be there, fighting on the frontlines rather than this sulking around in the shadows, but he knew deep down that their mission was far more important than any of those infantrymen's tasks were. If they were successful it could turn the tide of the war and save America from becoming the very thing Europe had become. An empty husk overrun by these demons.

Looking around Karl surveyed the rest of his six team. Code named X-Ray his squad of Sentinels were all equipped in the standard anti infection armour provided by Special Forces. But despite their identical armour Karl could tell them apart without even glancing at their serial numbers. There was Jack, blonde haired and more than a little cocky Australian, prone to wearing a non regulation bandanna underneath his suit and seeming to consider himself invincible. Then there was Tom, a level headed man with red features and more than a tad short, a refugee from England he had tested positive for the Chimeran Virus and immediately been initiated into the Sentinels program. Next came Daniel, a veteran of the World War and possibly the most experienced man on the team. Despite this he was no leader but definitely good support; his helmet hid his shaved bold head. Then there was Steve who was the definitely the tank of their team, black skinned and with short hair he could set up a machine gun in no time flat and could even wield the thing standing up with his massive frame. Then there was the final and most...questionable member of the group, Lina a dark haired pale skinned woman grudgingly let into the Sentinels only because of her crack shot with a sniper rifle. She was a refugee from Russia and had somehow on her way to Britain and then America become infected with the Chimeran virus. The people at Intelligence had grilled her day and night for weeks before giving up on finding out any more on the situation of Russia. She claimed to have lived on a small town on the border and had no idea on what was going on within the country proper. Her story was probably true; anyone closer likely wouldn't have survived.

And he was the squad leader of these elite group of men (and women), he was the one to resume responsibility for these people, he was the one had who to lead them to their objective and bring them out alive. A task looking to be more and more difficult by the look of AA fire rising to meet the VTOL's far off in the distance. His brown hair would have been whipping in the wind had his helmet allowed for any such motion. Hearing the beeping of his radio he quickly pressed the button on the side of his head to active his microphone.

"This is X-Ray squad leader Karl Manex reporting" he said clearly, despite such a development as being able to make a radio small enough to fit on his back without adding too much weight the reception was still patchy and you needed to speak carefully or risk not being able to hear at all. The caller responded "This is Grey Hammer Command, mission is a go, reports indicate larger resistance than anticipated, proceed to the rendezvous and meet with the convoy containing the cargo with caution. Squads Delta and Zulu will provide a distraction to ensure minimal contacts. Good Luck." And with that the radio cut out, messages had to be short and brief or risk the Chimera zeroing in on the signal.

Giving a hand signal Karl ordered his team to be ready, the VTOL's engines slowed as it switched to hover mode and it lowered slowly onto the street. Karl's head was a machine scanning the streets and alleys for a sign of the enemy. He knew without looking that Daniel would be doing the same from the aircraft's other door. Standard procedure.

Landing gently Karl made another motion and his team scuttled out, Jack leading the way with Daniel bringing up the rear. They spread out finding what cover they could. Giving the thumbs up to the pilots he jumped down the small gap between the helicopters floor and the cement. But in those two seconds everything changed.

A Stalker rounded the corner into the street, its weapons already focusing on the huge vulnerable target before it.

Karl reacted quickly sighting the metal behemoth, he knew that the only reason that the Stalker had not yet fired was because of the special coating on the VTOL specifically designed to prevent tracing and tracking by computer systems, but the Stalker's pilot would switch to manual in a matter of seconds and then their extraction would become a lot more difficult, not to mention the potential loss of his teammates in the ensuing battle.

"Aim for its eyes!" he yelled and quickly sighting with his own M5A2 Carbine opened fire on one of the two visual video receptors which served as the 'eyes' for the Stalker when its cockpit was closed. The rest of his team followed his example and the Stalker quickly found itself in the position of danger. Despite several layers of protective shielding its eyes could be destroyed if repeatedly targeted and then it would be a sitting duck. The Chimeran pilot realising the danger slowly moved the Stalkers cumbersome legs to the left, moving the mech behind a building and out of the line of fire.

Karl did not spend time savouring the moment, the transport was into the open sky and with its stealth capabilities should be able to avoid any manual shots the Stalker could get at this range. But already a team of Hybrids were making their way towards the landing zone, drawn by the sound of gunfire and the taste of fresh meat. It seemed to Karl that God himself was against him today, things were not going as smooth as they had planned in the briefing.

Tapping Jack and Lina on the shoulders the three of them stepped out into the open and sprayed carbine bullets at the incoming forces, forcing them to find cover and cease their mad dash. Daniel was already leading the rest of the group to a side alley while they kept the enemy pinned down, running out of bullets he crouched and reloaded, quickly dropping the empty magazine and shoving a fresh one in its place, Jack and Lina doing a similar procedure. The Hybrids taking advantage of the lapse renewed their attack, and Karl knew that any hope of resuppressing them was lost. Keeping low he motioned for them to brake off and follow the others. Spraying a final burst of bullets and trying to avoid the bullseye fire being returned at him he sprinted for the alley.

Panting he thankfully made it around the corner without any critical injuries, his armour deflecting the few glancing shots which scratched him. But he knew the Hybrids would follow and likely bring the Stalker with them, there was no way they could run, fight or even hide with the current forces they had to bear. And he could not lead Enemy forces to the rendezvous, his orders had been explicitly clear on that. The problem gnawed away inside his head.

"Sir we can't go on like this, I can lead them away." Jack suggested his light Australian accent tingling with excitement. Karl considered the idea, Jack was fast, and a single man would have a much better chance of escaping the pursuers once he had led them a sufficient distance. "Can you do it?" he said already knowing the answer. With what he could only assume was a cocky grin on his face the young Sentinel stowed his Carbine and un-slung his Rossmore shotgun. "If they can catch me I'll pull the trigger myself." Leaping out into the open he fired two shots, advertising his presence. The Hybrids not thinking beyond the immediate prey sprinted after him. The ground shaking as the Stalker quickly joined them.

And then like that they were alone, Karl giving the form up signal the team assembled into a ring formation facing outwards. With Karl leading, Tom to the right, Daniel to the left with Lina and Steve bringing up the rear they had a total 360 view of their surroundings, preventing any Chimera sneaking up on them. Moving slowly through the war torn city they stopped at a small Church to survey the area ahead. The bell tower making an excellent viewpoint without compromising security.

"Hope Jack's ok," Tom mused biting down on a ration he had brought along, "We can't afford to lose any more Sentinels after the last mission.". Karl let the squad talk, but he couldn't help but let a hand go to his helmet. As if to trace the scar which the bullet had wickedly carved just to the left of his eye, he had gotten off lucky, many men there had not returned with their lives, or their sanity.

"If he does not return then there is no use thinking about it," Lina responded sharply "It was necessary, there was no alternative, thinking about what might have been only causes us to lose focus of our mission." The rest of the squad went silent at this, Lina had always been logical to a fault.

Indeed Karl may have reprimanded Lina if not for the hand suddenly appearing on her shoulder. Reacting with her inhuman reflexes Lina grabbed the arm and hurled him over her shoulder and onto the floor, her weapon already in her hands and pointing at the downed enemy.

It was Jack.

"And people say we don't get on well?" the winded Sentinel remarked picking himself up. Lina just growled and walked towards the wall of the structure, fiddling with the scope of her L23 sniper rifle. The rest of the squad broke out in laughter, Karl silenced them but he did it lightly indeed his own face was displaying a grin and only quieted them with consideration of them being discovered.

"Report!" he ordered seeing Daniel climbing down from the Bell Tower.

"Sir the way ahead looks clear enough but I spotted one major camp of Chimeran creatures," Daniel said in a rush "Well what are they doing?" he questioned when he did not elaborate further. "Well it's not in our way but their setting up a mortar position." Karl understood at once, the mortar was likely being set up in retaliation of the invading American strike force. Even a single mortar could claim hundreds of lives and that was if they didn't have the special crawler ones, which considering the situation they likely did. In relation to the mission destroying the encampment was no responsibility of his at all. He was supposed to get to the rendezvous point to secure the cargo and then bug out.

But Karl couldn't willingly condemn the lives of hundreds of American soldiers to such meaningless deaths, their whole mission was a diversion and he couldn't help but feel partly responsible for them. His mind squirmed between the two responsibilities.

"How many are there?" he questioned finally

"I couldn't see very well captain but from what I saw I estimate about a dozen Hybrids and maybe twice as many Menials." His visor remained locked on Karl's, almost pleading. Daniel had always been loyal to both his comrades and the cause. It was clear which decision he would make if he was in charge.

Karl sighed, "Okay where going in, but not a word of this to command understand? And if any of you even think of dying on me, I'll make you wish you'd been converted!"

Jack and Steve hot blooded and always eager for a fight jumped and began hurriedly checking their weapons, Daniel being the instigator of the idea was ready to go as well, Tom gave him a small look but quickly began preparing himself. Lina however had no qualms about showing her view of the order, letting out a long string of words in Russian which sounded more than a little violent she marched off to the Church's entrance. Karl watched her as his body went through motions of preparing his gear, something really would have to be done about her, or she'd face a court-martial.

Making a mental note to pursue the matter later he checked his gear and with the confirmation that the rest of the team was ready gave the signal for 'move out'

---------

Through his binoculars Karl examined the mortar position from the park which stood opposite it, it was large and they were at the far end so there was little chance of being spotted. He quickly found that Daniel had been accurate; he counted 3 Hybrids on the almost completely demolished second story keeping a look out from the sections which had not yet collapsed, and roughly 10 more directing and bossing nearly twice as many Menials around on the ground floor. Even from this distance Karl could see the slick sheen of sweat which coated their bodies. They were exasperated from guiding the infinitely dull labour force around all day in the sun. That would work to their advantage. The Menials themselves walked around carrying bits of machinery and power cores, as well as the massive shells which would soon be fired from the cannons. He had been right on the other count as well; several appeared to be the mini spire like ammo which would spell doom for the task force. That sealed the deal.

Turning to face the rest of the squad he outlined his plan. "Okay this is how we're going to do it; Lina will establish a sniper position here and on my command take out the three lookouts up top. As soon as their dead I will give the signal for you Steve to set up a gun turret on the other side and generate as much attention as possible, you can back him up Jack. After they are distracted and turning the other way me, Daniel and Tom will move in from the other side and catch them in the crossfire, with them caught between us we should be able to make short work of them. Any questions?"

Apart from a high five between Steve and Jack and a small grumble from Lina, not a word or movement, they understood. Quickly and silently they made their ways to the positions he had assigned them. With Tom and Daniel in tow he made his own way to the mall. Praying like hell everyone made it through in one piece.

----------

The dry brown grass crackled around him as he and his two squad mates crawled their way towards the mall. Deciding any closer risked being scented by the Chimera he gave the hand signal for them to halt. And there they lay, perhaps just 20 metres away from the building, he could see the lifeless grey corpses which were the Hybrids, the light clammy brown zombies which were the Menials. He could hear their growls and smell their sweat. Making slow movements as to not attract attention he moved his finger to activate the mike in his helmet.

"Fire on my mark." he whispered so lightly that he feared she would not hear. But Lina soon belayed his fears with a neutral "Acknowledged". He tensed as he prepared to make the command, as though he himself was lining up the shot, his own scope deciding who would live and who would die. Lina was a good shot, but if she missed and the Hybrids got to cover this whole assault would be useless. And they would be forced to perform a sloppy retreat, very likely killing several of them in the process. The Sentinels were good, but they were not invincible.

With steel in his eyes he whispered so softly that it might have been mistaken for a passing wind "Fire!" Lina did not fail him, the bullet was already leaving the barrel.

The first bullet flew towards the first Chimera and struck it right between its three sets of eyes, dead before it hit the ground, but Karl knew Lina had seconds before the other Chimera realised what was going on and ran for cover, she had to beat the clock here, not just the Hybrids. He could almost sense her scope closing in on the second Hybrid, he could hear its rumble of confusion as it sighted its fallen brethren. The Fareye cracked a second time this time striking the beast right in the chest, from his vantage point he could see it go down in a pile of its own guts. Karl tensed, this last shot would be the most difficult, the third sentry would be alert and have more warning, it was likely even now pelting for cover, from which it would then alert the others and then his whole plan would lie in tatters. He heard the Fareye shoot yet again followed by the low sigh as the Hybrid dropped to the ground as if it were a puppet with its strings cut. All three of them were dead.

"Sentries eliminated, I'll remain on site until target area is clear."

"Roger that. Steve, Jack you in position?" Karl questioned relief clear in his voice, but he had barely asked the question than the sound of heavy machine gun fire erupted from the other side of the building. The two Sentinels had heard the cracks of Lina's sniper rifle and clearly decided to start early. He hoped they lived to regret the reprimands he would make.

Adrenaline filled Karl's veins as he charged towards the Mall like a man with no fear. He reached the door in a dozen leaps and with his military grade boots broke down the door. Tom and Daniel were already moving in from the sides covering the diagonals. Levelling his rifle he followed them in.

The place was filled with Menials, sighting along his barrel he opened fire on the first of the slow lumbering beasts, Tom and Daniel already moving on to their seconds. In terms of combat abilities Menials were jokes, they were no threat to the well equipped and superiorly trained Sentinels. And with all the Hybrids outside they could eliminate the beasts at their leisure.

Until three Hybrids suddenly returned to destroy the new threat.

Aiming as one, temporary ignoring the approaching Menials they opened up with their carbines. The lead Hybrid barely had a chance to spot them before its chest exploded from the force of the lead being pumped into it. As far as Hybrids went it was a tough one but nothing could stand up to that much firepower. Its body mangled almost beyond recognition is slumped to the floor.

The two others did not make the same mistake, they fled to cover. Jumping behind one of the cannons he dropped his nearly empty clip and jammed in a fresh one. It would be a game of cat and mouse now, he had hoped to avoid such dangerous close quarter fighting, but with Menials and Hybrids lurking around they would have to risk moving into the centre of the structure, with plenty of ammo crates, machines and rubble for ambushes. Standing up they opened fire on the closest Menials, 5 went down in quick succession, seeing no more of the slow lumbering zombies he motioned for Tom to lead and they began moving forward in a tight triangle, each one of them facing a different direction.

Spotting a Menial Karl opened fire, its face shattered as it fell to the ground with a hiss. To his left and right he could hear Tom and Daniel doing a similar process, it took all his willpower to not turn around and look to enemies which were possibly just feet away from him, but they had to keep formation, or risk being caught off guard. The Menials were no threat, but the hidden Hybrids certainly were. Spotting another of the dull witted creatures he blew its chest open in burst of red blood, killing it instantly, he scanned left and right watching for another target.

It was a small surprise when a Hybrid leaped from behind a crate, but it was a big surprise when instead of opening fire it took two humungous bounds with its clawed feet and knocked the carbine from his hands. Claws erect it tackled him to the ground.

Pulling back his fist Karl slammed it into the Hybrids face, but the blow barely seemed to faze the creature at all, snarling it grabbed him by the shoulders began repeatedly slamming his head into the ground. Tensing both his legs he kicked out knocking the Chimera off him and collapsing clumsily onto a box of bullseye ammunition. Tired and battered Karl could barely pull himself to his knees before the creature was upright and charging again, this time there would be no lucky blow.

Abruptly the air was filled with bullets and the Hybrid with a dumb look on its face died. Panting Karl nodded thanks to Tom and Daniel, they had been unable to shoot with the two of them being so entangled but had open fired in the brief interlude between his and the Hybrid's struggle. Picking up his dented rifle he shoved another clip in. And together they continued their advance through the building.

All was silent now, the sounds of gunfire and roars now nothing but a rustling of the wind, Karl swore, if Jack and Steve were dead he would never forgive himself. But his fears proved groundless, both Steve and Jack walking through the front door as casually as if they were walking into a bar, barring the scratched battle armour, the smell of gunpowder and rifles resting on their shoulders. Like a scene from a Wild West movie.

That changed quick smart when they spotted them though, they knew they had attacked before his signal and their assured stance changed to one of shame so fast you would have missed if you blinked. He could almost imagine the downcast eyes and slight frown, but there would be a time to deal with that later, he was just about to tell them to spread out and find the remaining Hybrid when a series of cracks made him turn rifle raised. He was greeted to the site of Lina standing over the second Hybrid, her Fareye still smoking from the point blank shots she had unloaded into its back. Rasping the crippled Hybrid attempted to grab her, but quick as lightening her knife flashed and sliced its hand clean off. Gaping at its new wound in dumb shock the abomination lay still.

Sheathing her knife she gave a brief nod, nothing else needed to be said.

"Uh sir you may want to have look at this." Daniel yelled looking out the nearest window. Wondering what could have drawn his attention Karl made his way over to the opening and peered out, and almost wished he hadn't.

Goliaths, massive four legged siege batteries were cresting the rise at the outskirts of the city. Karl's heart sunk, there was no hope for the task force now, a single artillery post was one thing, but they were no match against that, nothing could be done.

"Move, move, move I want us at the rendezvous in five minutes!" Karl barked sending his team scrambling. The Goliaths were not yet in range so they still had a few minutes, but when they were this whole town would be bathed in crawlers, and despite the armour they wore to protect themselves from just such an attack it was not full proof, nothing was against crawlers. If they hurried they might still be able to meet the delivery and get out on the VTOL before the attack. But they had to hurry.

Pelting out the entrance and leading his team at a jog Karl moved them down the road, there was no time for formation or stealth, they just moved. Even as they ran Karl was sending out messages out to both Zula and Delta teams about the incoming Goliaths, but if they had any sense they would have already seen them and preparing for extraction.

Recognising the place, he put up his hand to stop his team and then gently motioning they fanned out, moving slowly. The meeting point was dead ahead and he was not going to take any chances, even with those colossal spiders breathing down their necks.

Spotting movement in what appeared to be a battered LYNX, Karl motioned for them to surround the vehicle and then announced himself in his command voice "I am Captain Manex of the American Black Op's division, identify yourselves!"

"Oh thank god," shouted a British soldier pulling himself from the wreckage "We thought you'd never come." Turning around he helped another soldier climb out of the busted jeep, this one with severe bandages over the left side of his chest, blood could be seen seeping through the cloth. Both looked battered and tired, much like their vehicle.

"I'm Officer Williamson and this is Private Fields, we were both rangers assigned to protect the convoy which we were supposed to hand over to you." Williamson explained

"Where is the convoy then?" Karl questioned trying to be patient

"We were attacked, hundreds of Chimera, Stalkers, Hybrids, Buzzard's the whole shah bang, they knew we were coming no idea how, overwhelmed the whole convoy in a matter of minutes, I hate to admit it but we ran for it, we figured the only good we could do it was tell you guys what happened."

"Is your radio operational?" Karl asked "No." The British officer replied confusion in his voice from the strange question. "Have you had any contact with anyone, outposts, planes other survivors?" Karl persisted a strange tone in his voice. "No, none at all just me and Fields here." the officer responded

"Good, team X-Ray open fire!"

Shock spread across the two men's faces as the Sentinels raised their weapons, the two British had left their weapons in the LYNX but it would have done them no good if they hadn't, they stood there like statues, too shocked to move.

The first bullets hit them, and they were statues no more, their bodies jerked and leaped at the cascade of lead, the spasms giving them the appearance of dancing, Officer Williamson tried to take a step towards his attackers but coughing up blood he fell to the ground beside his comrade.

The armoured soldiers stared at the two humans they had massacred, they looked to Karl. None of this had been mentioned in the briefing, but they had obeyed. Though he could not see their eyes Karl could imagine the silent question in each of their eyes.

"I was given a separate set of orders to the rest of you; Command has predicted that even with the new armaments and supplies we give them the British military will be completely overwhelmed within 3 months, giving these weapons to them would only delay the inevitable, so Command decided to take the convoy by force, then withdraw the supplies and this secret weapon the British have gotten their hands on back to America." he explained his heart heavy

"What the hell about Britain then or Europe for that matter? Are we just goin,g to let them win?" Tom exploded his voice will with anger, this was his homeland and he had evidently lost none of his hopes for reclaiming it.

But Lina cut in before he could even answer "You have been all over this country in our missions Tom do you honestly think England can be saved?" She let the sentence hang, like a bad smell in the air. None of them could help but look around, England was a mess, Chimera now controlled 90% of the area and more Resistance bases and bunkers were destroyed every day. No military solution seemed possible.

"America can still be saved" Karl whispered "Europe and Britain are lost."

Turning away from the group he radioed the VTOL for extraction confirming the area was secure. He also informed them of the failure of the mission. The convoy had been lost, whatever weapon it held now in the hands of the Chimera. He felt defeated

The VTOL arrived and silently they boarded it, all consumed by their thoughts. Tom in particular was taking the murders badly, Karl put a hand on his shoulder but he stalked to the opposite end of the transport without saying a word. Karl let him go, he was sure Tom would see it had to have been done later one when his head was clear.

"Captain Manex we have a request for you over the radio," called one of the pilots from up front. Activating his own communication unit he zoned in on the frequency, only to find with a shock that it was in Morse code, his eyes narrowed at the realisation. Morse was only used when the data within the code could not be risked to be heard under any circumstances by man or Chimera. He waited until the correct tone signalled the completion of the message and then began translating in his head as it repeated itself. "Resistance noted, subject is in route to red facility, pursue and capture." followed by a long list of coordinates and confirmation codes. By the sound of it team Delta had observed the resistance and informed Grey Hammer who in turn had notified the Higher Ups, this order had come straight from the top.

Karl pondered the strange order, true a soldier with a resistance to the Chimera virus was worth their weight in gold to the Sentinels, but by the sounds of all of Grey Hammer was being sent after this soldier, they hadn't even suggested attempting to reclaim the convoy, despite their stanch view that it was the key to winning the war.

Still thinking the VTOL touched down on the small destroyer Grey Hammer, the aerial vehicle just barely fitting on the custom built helipad. In the distance the US Aircraft Carrier 'Lexington's' massive grey bulk was just visible in the distance. Did they even know what was going on while they calmly awaited the arrival of the convoy? Were their radio frequencies even now filled with cries of pain and suffering, or were they eerily silent?

Staring out at the calm ocean Karl prayed for the poor souls left behind.


	2. The Grey Zone

Wind once again buffeted Karl's helmeted face, but this time he was in no mood to savour the view from the VTOL's door. The last three missions has been huge failures, they had tracked the rogue Resistance codenamed 'Grayskin' to Grimbsy only to have him airlifted out by a British transport just as they had inserted. Manchester had been too full of AA and Stalkers to even risk an airborne insertion and had been forced to land on the outskirts. By the time they managed to reach the Grayskin's supposed location everyone had been long gone, the failure made all the more frustrating as they learned the secret weapon lost by the British convoy had also been present. Nottingham had been the worst of them all. The Sentinels landing right between charging British and Chimeran forces in what Command soon learned was Operation Shear. They had been lucky to all come out alive in that one, both Chimera and British soldiers gunning for them. The latter apparently mistaking them for Cloven.

Karl's team as well as the rest of the Black Op's were feeling the strain now. Such sloppy missions were not something they experienced often and now they had just had just hit three in a row. It brought back bad memories for Karl, he had only had one true failure before now and the cost was far too high to risk repetition. He could not allow it; no he would not allow it. Too much human life had been lost.

At least some good had been achieved from these botched operations. Seeing how well he and his team had handled themselves under such stressful and tough conditions Command had promoted him. He was now the leader of all the teams attached to Gray Hammer. Now they were all part of the X-ray's.

The X-rays had been sent to Cheshire to retake the secret weapon. Command had theorised that the 'Grayskin' had joined forces with the British resistance and had been there aiding them at Manchester. The plan was if the secret weapon were to be stolen the 'Grayskin' would be one of the first sent to recapture it. Two birds with one stone.

Of course everything had changed as they entered Cheshire, the air was full of Chimeran radio signals, and radar had showed dozens of aerial targets moving in on Northern Command, far too many to all be British. Command had taken this Intel and quickly formed a new plan. Even now British transports were returning from Nottingham to fend off this new attack among them the target. In the end this only worked out for the better, they would move in and steal the weapon in the confusion and most likely nab the 'Grayskin' who would be drawn to it. The first order of business though was to take the Chimeran base camp. And then as a missile flew straight past the VTOL they were thrown into the thick of it.

Black smoke and red motes of light filled the air as they descended hard and fast. The helicopter rocked as a nearby explosion upset them. Karl gripped the handhold attached to the rooftop and swore.

"Things are going to get rough!" he shouted to the rest of his team over the howling of the wind and gunfire. The warning was hardly necessary as all of them were being hurled about like ragdolls.

"There's going to be no time for a proper drop off so were going to do a leap." he informed looking worriedly back at the pilots. Such a manoeuvre instead of the tried and true method of the gunship hovering to let the infantry safely grapple or otherwise jump the helicopter stayed so low it almost touched the ground, the men then jumped from it a full speed. It was a risky tactic and more than one crew of aviators had died in the attempt, their bodies and craft strewn across the ground as they crashed against the soft but unforgiving earth. Not to mention countless injuries and death from the ground grew who misjudged the jump.

"As if we weren't having enough fun already." Jack commented in a sarcastic tone. Karl agreed with him, things were tough enough as it was without the risk of death and injury before you even fired the first shot. He hoped this one went off without a hitch; they would need every man if they were to accomplish their goal, through lines of Chimeran troops no less.

And then they were over the camp, the red status light on the wall beeping twice giving them the signal to jump. And then Karl was away from the cockpit hurtling towards the ground. He rolled and landed in a crouching position his rifle already in hand and spraying fire into the gizzards of his first Hybrid. Around him Sentinels from the three VTOL's were already among the surprised Chimera and tearing into them with ruthless efficiency. Karl had no time to look out from them though. This was independent work, every man for himself. And then he was lost in the vicious struggle between life and death.

A nearby Hybrid hurled a grenade towards him; he barrel rolled laying himself flat. The roll saved his life the spikes spearing out in every direction. Prone he lined up and gunned down the offending Hybrid. Leaping up he loaded a 40 millimetre grenade into his carbine and fired at a nearby gun emplacement which another of the foul demons was attempting to man. It leaped back its face bloody from the concussive force. But Karl was already moving onto the next target, before the enemy regrouped.

Seeing one of the grounded Buzzard's attempt to lift off he opened fire on the still open cockpit, the Chimeran dropship tilted and rammed into a cluster of mortar emplacements. Both bits of machinery exploded in a burst of shrapnel and smoke. Around him his team were rapidly thinning the ranks of Hybrids. Jack was firing his shotgun in all directions, the scattered blasts ripping the beast's tender skin to shreds. Steve had set up his hailstorm turret and was unloading hoards of bullets into a defensive formation of Hybrids. Tom and Daniel were fighting back to back in perfect synchronization. Lina had retreated to a make shift shelter behind a crate of ammo but was contributing just as much, her sniper cracking as fast as it would load. She was firing one handed the massive frame of the Fareye braced against the metal cover. Her free hand was being used to spray bursts of carbine fire into enemies which got to close. Already half a dozen lay dead before her vantage point. And everywhere the other teams were taking their own toll on the monsters. Karl saw all of this in seconds and then was back into the fight. The Hybrids were beat and they knew it, already the majority were running towards the northern end of the perimeter. Gripping his gun tightly Karl gave chase.

With their backs to him the Hybrids were easy pickings. So loud were the sounds of battle behind them and the stench of smoke from missiles and bullets that even with their superior senses the Hybrids were clueless. Three went down in rapid succession without a single one noticing his presence and several more died even as they turned to face him. Gritting his teeth running even as he unloaded his mag into them. Those who lived after his brutal barrage of lead were put out of their misery with the butt of his rifle.

The Hybrids appeared to be making for some sort of portable shelter. A container not to different from the ones dropped by Buzzard's when inserting shock troops. It puzzled him why they would be making for such a object, but it did not reduce his aim, once, twice, three bursts of fire issued from his carbine, bringing yet another Hybrid to its knees. The five remaining Hybrids saw him now but strangely enough continued running. One running to either side of the shelter the rest turning to provide cover fire as they opened the massive crate.

It was a holding pen for Howlers.

They roared as the galvanised door shifted aside and exposed the sharp sunlight to their sensitive eyes. A thunderous wave of sound almost drowning out the battle issued from their throats. Karl stopped short; this was not what he had been expecting.

The Howlers small beady eyes spotted him as the Hybrids jumped to the side, they charged.

Karl ran. He had no illusions he could fight pack of the beasts all by himself, and with the remaining Hybrids the only other choice was run and hope he could find a way to stop them.

The Howlers gave chase, their quadruped design allowing them to quickly gain on him. Karl began to pant with excursion. Despite the light material from which it was constructed his armour was not designed for running and his combat gear only added to the weight. His visored gazed scanned left and right as he fled, looking for anything that might help him. At last he spotted something, putting on a last burst of speed he angled for it.

His target was a rack of unused power cells, their lights growing green with the nuclear power they contained. He leaped over the rack and then pitting his shoulder against the frame attempted to knock it over, but it would not budge. Pushing harder he felt it tip, encouraged he put every last drop of strength into the task, urged by the thought of the fast approaching Howlers. A whole new meaning to the term 'Wolves at the Door'

The rack tilted and held still as though waiting to see if something would save it at the last minute and then fell. Its contents spilling out in all directions. Grimly Karl hurled a grenade at the unstable batteries and then leaped behind a piece of Chimeran technology, waiting for the huge explosion.

He was not disappointed. The grenade detonated just as the Howlers reached the rack, the resulting chain reaction blowing them into meaty chunks which rained down from the sky like red rain. Letting out a relieved sigh Karl stepped out from behind the now blacked silver metal.

And got a bullseye straight to the face.

The surviving Hybrids had seen the trap and leapt for cover. They now surrounded him as he fell to the ground. The leader pressed its gun to the side of head execution style. Still dazed from the butt to the head Karl could barely make out up from down let alone fight back. Letting out a guttural growl the leader prepared to fire, but in flash of light the bullseye exploded in his hand.

The Sentinels had mopped up the camp's defences and had come to the rescue of their leader. Almost twenty separate guns ripped the animals to shreds. In three seconds it was all over.

Karl accepted a hand and hauled himself to his feet. He picked up his carbine only to have it brake in half, the impression of a Chimeran foot clearly showing its method of destruction. Abandoning the weapon he surveyed the Sentinels.

"Anyone dead?" he questioned quickly counting their numbers. With a shock he realised that only sixteen were present. There should have been eighteen, six per squad.

"Donnelly broke his arm on entry and was shot before we could get to him." one member Karl didn't know informed. "Greg hurt his leg and stayed back at the camp to keep a lookout." he added.

Karl took it in. One Sentinel dead and another wounded. They had taken worse losses and in much smaller operations than this. He was surprised about Donnelly though, he had been so full of strength it had almost seemed like he would live forever. He had been leader of the second squad of the now X-Rays, officially designated Blue team.

"Sir!" Daniel said formally "As suspected the Buzzards brought in a large number of Burrowers in with them, there aren't any left but we can see from the trails they left behind that they travelled east." Karl nodded, considering the subterranean nature of Northern Command it would have made sense to use Borrowers to begin the initial attack. Destroying its infrastructure and paving a path which allowed the rest to bypass the external defences.

"Show me." he motioned

----------

Karl stood at the edge of burrowing ground. The massive trail of the giant mechanical worms separating and then leading into twenty individual dark holes, each one of them over 8 metres in diameter. They sloped down almost vertically, in their armour there would be no coming back up once they went down, at least without climbing equipment.

"What do we do now?" one of them questioned peering into the dark depths of one of them. Even with the flashlight built into his helmet he couldn't see the bottom.

"We climb down." Karl replied as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. This was followed by a lot of stares from the group. Climbing into Chimera tunnels was practically suicide. Apart from the many different strains which would be present down there the tunnels often contained mines, biological agents and sometimes a Burrower making a return trip. To the Sentinels it was referred to as the Gray Zone. Cut off from the outside world, hell even radios didn't work in the tunnels. Something the guys at Intelligence were still trying to figure out.

"Which ones and in how many groups?" Lina questioned business as usual

Karl considered the question. They needed to find the weapon and the 'Grayskin' quickly, as soon as the Chimera obtained this weapon they had so desperately come for they would detonate explosives and bury Northern Command leaving nothing but a pile of rubble. They mightn't even try to escape before the explosion. Chimera had no thoughts of self preservation, they were more than happy to be suicide bombers. There was no time to spare.

"Pick one and jump in, one person per hole," he ordered "we don't have time for anything else."

They looked at him questionably but slowly they began moving towards the pits. They understood what was at stake here.

Selecting the nearest god forsaken hole he went over the edge. Sliding down into the Gray Zone.

He slid for minutes, moving ever deeper into the darkness. The small ridges created by the monumental machines bumping his backside gently through his armour. Finally after what seemed like hours the ground levelled out and Karl picked himself up. Staring up he could just barely make out the spot of light which was the entrance. This worm sure had dug deep.

Activating his helmets flashlight he looked around. The tunnel seemed to go on fairly straight, no sign of the actual base though. Moving his hand to his back he was surprised to find his Carbine missing. He swore, he had forgotten to procure another weapon after his first had been destroyed. He didn't even have a sidearm! God forbid if he died at the hands of some menial because he was unarmed.

Deciding there was nothing for it but to press on he began moving along the underground passageway. The tunnel twisted and turned but seemed to stay roughly in the same direction, he found no Chimera or traps but he approached cautiously all the same.

Finally rounding a bend he came across his first glimpse of Northern Command, it was hardly distinguishable. The entire room was a mess of rubble and steel. Any entrances leading from it lay under a ton of rock. No way through here. He continued on.

Again the tunnel winded and turned yet always seemed to head in the same direction. It seemed to steadily move upwards as well, which made the going slower. After a while he began to wonder if this was such a good idea after all, what if it became too steep to climb? He would be trapped like a rat.

It was just as he thought this that he nearly lost his life.

If he had been paying attention he would have heard the distant scratching and growling of the Hybrids. He took three whole steps around the corner and into the open before he noticed them. Reacting with lightning fast reflexes he leaped back to cover. He had his ear pressed to wall, had they heard him? But after several seconds and no attack he figured he was safe and slowly edged around the corner again.

The Burrower had met an ill fated end, driven with typical Chimeran eagerness it had driven straight into the heart of the base, but by some unlucky stroke of misfortune had crashed into one of the bunkers many steel foundations. It had not been a soft crash either, the girder must have been three metres thick.

The digger had bust open like a tin can with two much air pumped into it. The front was completely decimated, the only exit through the holes in its side caused by the crash. Half the crew were out trying to get it going again, the others were laid out next to it. The casualties of the brutal collision.

Despite being happy at there being several less Chimera in the world and one Burrower biting the dust this caused a whole new set of problems for Karl. He was unarmed and there was a squad of Hybrids between him and his goal. At least he didn't have to worry about finding a route into Northern Command, a large gash had been torn through the thick cement revealing a soldiers barracks. It was only one hundred metres away but it might as well been a million.

He was looking for any way he could bypass the squad when one of the Hybrids caught his eye. Slowly taking out his binoculars he zeroed in on it.

It was definitely the leader, everything from the way it growled to the way it walked screamed 'I'm in charge here!' but the differences went far beyond that. Instead of the usual six cooling units on its back it had fourteen much smaller ones. They twitched and wiggled like quivers on its back, each one of them crisscrossed with blue electricity. This pattern spread across its armour in an ever expanding pattern. To Karl it gave the Chimera the look of a hologram, like out of those science fiction magazines he had read as a teenager.

But by far the biggest difference was its face. Its three sets of eyes were closer together and even from his distance he saw they were bug like, sticking out of their sockets and rotating, they worked independently from one another but at the same time coordinated. They were also a brilliant dark blue in contrast to the ordinary yellow. Its snout was much more angular, almost a streamlined version of an ordinary Hybrid with an overall narrower face. And if it were possible it seemed to have even more teeth than the original, the pointed fangs gleaming wickedly.

Karl made a mental note to mention this to intelligence. It was possible he had come across a new strain.

The leader evidently gave up trying to repair the busted burrower and called the Hybrids in. Gathering around him it appeared to be giving orders, curious for a Hybrid when they normally only used the most basic of tactics. After their talk the Chimera marched through the gash, Karl leaned forward eagerly. This was just the break he needed.

But at the last second the leader turned to the final Hybrid making its way into the base and pointed to their destroyed transport. The Hybrid let off a howl of protest but was quickly silenced by an even bigger roar from its commander, cringing it made its way back to the vehicle and stood. Satisfied the leader followed its troops through the opening into the base.

Karl seethed in frustration; trust him to come across the only Hybrid smart enough to leave a guard. Normally a single Hybrid would have posed little problem but alone and with only his knife for company taking out even one was going to be tricky. Seeing the Hybrid turn its back on him he began to creep towards it.

He had to move slowly, even the slightest noise would alert the Hybrid to his presence and despite its creators claims that the anti infection suit was designed for every situation moving stealthily was not one of them. More than once he had to hide behind a piece of rubble or broken metal when a loosed rock sent his enemy's gaze in his direction. Finally he was edging along the worm's battered bulk and within metres of his target knife drawn.

Readying himself he lunged.

The Hybrid spotted something on the ground and leaned over.

His knife instead of sinking into the demon's foul throat scraped one of its cooling apparatus's. Suddenly he was facing an armed, dangerous and very pissed Hybrid. All he managed to do was knock away its weapon and then it was upon him.

It's claw came straight across his neck, the razor sharp claws shredding the plastics and metals. The nails bit hard raking across his skin, he staggered back coughing and dropping his knife. He tasted blood.

The Hybrid flexed its hands and moved in for the kill. Eager for his flesh.

His vision turning red Karl punched the Hybrid straight in the face. Now it was its turn to step back, this time spitting out broken teeth. Karl did not relent, his second blow was already landing on its stomach, the beast wheezed as its soft underbelly gave the punch a loud thud as it landed. This was followed by a knee to the groin, the brown skinned monster collapsed to its knees.

Karl was far from done, skipping his knife and went straight for the thing's throat. His armoured fingers digging deep into the soft flesh. It gasped and clawed at him as slowly the life was choked out of it. He wrung its neck until it resembled clay, so bent out of shape and deformed it was impossible to guess what it might have been before the transformation. And blood, lots of blood.

He rose from the kill, examining his neck wound. It bled sluggishly but was not a major concern. It stung like hell though. The loss of adrenaline bringing back the pain the heat of battle had blocked. He was covered in the blood of his enemy, he had lost control. He criticised himself for such bloodthirstiness, fits of rage may be expected of a new recruit but such lapses were below him.

Sheathing his knife he looked for the discarded bullseye. Eventually after several minutes he found it...in pieces. The cheap weapon had spilt clean in half upon impact. He sighed, today was just not his day.

Deciding that nothing could be salvaged from the wreckage he moved towards the entrance to the base. Peeking around the corners he looked for the Chimera which had come through, no Hybrids but the place was a mess. The combination of the crash and the resulting panic from the invasion leaving the room in disarray. Prowling among the beds he finally found what he had been searching for... a working weapon.

It was a 22 LRR. A sub machine gun favoured by British commando's in close quarter and urban fighting. Affectionately dubbed "The Corkscrew" it held two hundreds rounds in two separate magazines. Using technology similar to those used in the Reaper pistols wielded by SlipSkulls the two magazines were used in unison, by meshing the bullets the gun could achieve a rate of fire faster than any other gun. 22 rounds a second in fact, the reason for its name. It's bullets were small and in comparison to other guns relatively weak. But the sheer number of them and its lightning fast speed ensured many a fan where moving fast was more important than brute strength.

Karl smiled as he inspected the weapon. As absurd as it sounded he did feel a lot better now with a weapon in hand. Realistically it made little difference at all; there were probably hundreds if not thousands of enemy troops in here and one gun was hardly going to make a difference. That didn't stop the feeling though as he retrieved several spare clips of ammunition sitting atop a nearby locker.

He proceeded down a nearby hallway. Three dead British soldiers lay there in a pool of blood, two engineers and the third a medic. They had never even stood a chance, their weapons not even drawn from their holsters. Karl made a sign of the cross and muttered a pray under his breath before proceeding. Even though he likely would have been forced to kill them himself had he come across them alive he still respected their cause.

Stepping over the bodies he came into must have been a cafeteria, half eaten meals and drinks abandoned in a hurry. He selected an entrance which seemed to have been the direction in which they had moved and went through it.

He passed through several more hallways and rooms without incident when his radio exploded with static.

"This is X-ray Sentinel Jade I am need of assistance are any friendlies out there?" came a female voice.

"This is X-ray leader Sentinel Manex what is your situation Jade?" Karl replied quickly, he looked left to right attempting to hear the source of her voice. She had to be close if the radio was picking up a signal down here.

"Oh thank god it's you Karl," Jade responded relief clear in her voice "I met up with Fred from Blue team a few minutes ago; everything was going well, no Chimera to speak of at all. Then suddenly a bunch of SlipSkulls ambushed us, Fred's down and I'm wounded. I managed to fight them off but one got away, can you help me?"

"Come in this is X-ray Sentinel Briar of Red team." came in a third voice.

"Tom," Karl exclaimed recognising his squad mate "Jade is in trouble and I can't locate her. Can you reach her?"

"Where are you?" Tom questioned

"In some kind of storage area, a Burrower tore right through the hallway nearby" she answered desperation in her voice

"I think I passed that a few minutes ago," Tom replied "Hold your position until I get there".

"Thank you." Jade replied

Karl nodded to himself. He was unhappy about Fred's death, two Sentinels were down now but he was confidant Tom would bring Jade out alive. Despite being a little shaken from the killing of English soldiers in cold blood at York he was still one of Karl's most trusted men.

"I hear footsteps you must be close?" Jade commented breaking in over the radio.

"No I'm still a few minutes away." Tom replied uncertainty in his voice

"Just some soldiers by the look of it" Jade informed and then to the approaching humans "Hey who are you..." before the radio became filled with the sound of gunfire. Then static.

Karl's heart leaped into his throat "Tom!" he bellowed panic in his voice. Tom didn't waste time with words, panting as he ran to the room. Then that noise too was gone, the signal had cut out.

Karl stood still hoping to regain the signal but after a minute had to concede defeat. Had the fled SlipSkull returned? But she had said they were human, had they been British who had attacked her out of panic? Like at Nottingham? There was nothing to do but soldier on now, and hope Tom could deal with whatever had happened.

Karl continued on Corkscrew held tightly. Aside from occasional signs of a struggle he found nothing of note as he ventured ever deeper into the underground labyrinth. What was odd though that he found no more bodies, instead he found trails of blood, all converging and leading in the same direction.

Deciding to investigate he forwent what would have been his preferred path and followed the trail of crimson death. A red carpet to whatever was waiting at the end, and Karl had little doubt it would be unpleasant.

As he travelled Karl began to encounter his first power outed areas. It was little surprise considering the amount of damage which he had seen inflicted on the base. He thought little of it though, his helmet light providing ample illumination for the darkened areas. He was glad of it too, as soon the lighted areas ceased to be found. The small torch his only company in the pitch black darkness.

He entered what appeared to be large circular chamber when naturally the light went out.

At first he was too stunned by the darkness assaulting his eyes to do more than stop moving. Silence seemed to screech in his ears. Then something else. Concentrating he tried to identify the origin of the slight sound. It sounded sort of like...a slurp. So faint it was barely there. Fiddling with the lamp and the only result being a useless clicking noise he began moving towards what he remembered to be the direction of the centre.

The noise got louder as he moved forward. He stopped as his foot hit something. Moving slowly he nudged it and felt little resistance. It was soft. Not waiting to discover what it was he continued, stepping over it. No sooner had he taken two more steps than his boot once again bumped against something soft. Once again jumping over the obtrusion he again attempted to move on but found his path blocked by yet another soft object, and when he tried to skip over it he again encountered more softness. In all directions.

The slurping noise had grown stronger as he had pressed forward. It seemed to surround him, coming from all directions. Cogs began to tick inside his head. He decided that it was definitely not a loose pipe and began to make his way to what he believed to be the way out. But his foot caught and he fell to the ground face first.

Groaning in pain as his neck wounds reopened and fresh blood trickled down his chest he reached out hand. This did not grasp something soft though, it was scaly.

AND MOVING!

The thing twitched and in a screech was gone. Shaken Karl leaped to his feet and cocked his submachine gun. Turning around in all directions in an attempt to spot the movement of his attacker to no avail. The slurping noise seemed stronger now; he could make out individual tones, all the same. Slurp, Slurp, Slurp.

Karl would definitely be happy to be rid of this place now. But he was thoroughly disorientated now. He had no clue as to where he had come from or where he might find an exit. The darkness and the anonymous sounds were thoroughly unnerving him.

Doing another circle his gun clanged as it struck up against metal. Placing his hand on it he felt switches and relaxed slightly. He knew what this was; back in the US these things were used as portable power suppliers, mostly in military camps. Feeling around the back he found it was already plugged in. Locating the main power switch he flicked it. And the lights on roof spluttered to life.

And what he saw almost made him wish he hadn't.

The room was filled with corpses. Hundreds upon hundreds of them. They were piled four or five thick in some places and sometimes higher. They encircled him in every direction. They weren't clean either. Blood poured not only from their death wounds but also from those obviously made post mortem. Many had been gutted their ribcages torn open and their chests hollowed out. Skulls were cracked open with brain matter scattered about like pink salmon. Karl gagged at the sight, he felt sick inside.

The culprits of such defiling were not hard to spot, indeed many still gorged on unconcernedly, their massive slippery bites making the sounds Karl had noticed earlier.

They were leapers. Over a hundred, filling their bellies in what must have been an all you can eat buffet for them. Their screeches filled the air as the light angered their now used to the dark eyes. In seconds Karl was the focus of almost every Leaper in the room.

Swearing Karl opened fire. His bullets punching holes in several of the scorpion's hard skin and killing a dozen before they had the chance to move. Sighting the long sought after exit he ran for it, cutting down any of the insects which got in his way with swathes of gunfire. He felt a lancing pain in his thigh and turning around brought his foot down on a Leaper which had got to close. He dropped his two magazines and inserted a fresh ones moving all the while. Backing up he held the monsters at bay through the sheer amount of bullets he pumped into their ranks, and still they came, their mouth's wide open and screeching their terrifying cacophony. Finally reaching the door he continued to fire one handed while the other struggled with the door. The first ones just metres away from him and already preparing to make their sharp lethal hopping actions which had earned them their names, he closed the door with a smash. Taking special care to lock it tightly.

He rested there for a moment. The horrible screaming still bellowing even through the door's thick metal. He had seen death, bucket loads of it. But that hadn't made the sight any less horrifying. A conversion centre...thousands of men being converted in a wave of crawlers... blood everywhere...and seeing it all without being able to lift a hand to help. He shook his head, dislodging the memory. Think of the task at hand.

He once again made his way down the now lit corridor. The blood leading into the slaughterhouse made the cement slick and forced him to move carefully. Last thing he needed was a broken back.

As he moved he cast his thoughts back to the implication of the feeding room for the Leapers. Such a set up was not constructed just for a few hours insurrection. Did the Chimera mean to take the base intact rather than merely blowing it to bits? Chimera rarely cared for any kind of Human technology, but was this secret weapon different? If it was their only hope then they would truly be doomed if the Chimera turned it against them.

He came into a junction and on a whim chose the left path. The one which was not bathed in blood. Above him what seemed like a tremor occurred, evidently other Burrowers were still in commission. He held onto the wall until the worst of the quakes subsided, glaring in the direction where he suspected the tunneler was.

The tremors having passed he stepped away from the brick barrier. Massaging his neck he briefly allowed himself to gain his bearings and was just about to move out when his radio came alive. He moved his hand to the button located on his helmet.

"Anyone there?" he called out

"That you Sarge?" a young voice came back questionably

Karl sighed "I'm a captain Jack.". Honestly sometimes he wondered whether the Australian was clueless or just enjoyed playing the fool. Perhaps both. Either way he was a damn good soldier.

"Okay Captain" Jack replied with a large emphasis placed on the second word in what could have been sarcasm. "I'm here with Steve and Daniel and we think we've found our err... secret weapon."

"Jack?" Karl responded questionably. There had been a strange hesitation in the man's speech. "What's wrong?"

"It's an Angel," Steve replied instead. "They had us running around after this death trap like dogs, all for a fucking angel!" his voice growling in anger.

Karl was stunned, they had seen several angels during their trips into England. Always hovering hundreds of metres above the ground. They had no interest in combat, at the first sign of being threatened they almost always fled. Karl wasn't sure which was the bigger shock, the fact that the British had been able to catch one or that they had actually believed they could contain such a monster.

Then a second thought occurred to him. What if the British hadn't meant to contain it? If the creature had been brought overseas the Chimera would have followed it like a flock of sheep. Had the government even known what they had been trading for? Had the British planned to betray them?

"What's its status?" he finally asked

"Dead," Daniel replied. "There was a big battle here, dozens of Hybrids and British regulars all killed before we arrived," his voice grave. "All except one."

"He opened up the specimen tank," Jack broke in excitedly, "And he killed the thing singlehandedly," he said in a rush. "Of course then we realised the Angel was the secret weapon Command had us chasing."

"Well that's one of the two objectives done with" Karl replied, "Inform the rest of the team of the Angel if you can, if you use morse code you should be able to boost the power and break through the concrete."

"There's one more thing," said Daniel "Were not sure but Jack thinks' he saw a Cloven in the shadows earlier. If he was really there he disappeared before me or Steve could see him, but we thought we should inform you just in case."

"You know the procedure," Karl said back dread in his voice "Were not allowed to let any confidential data fall into Cloven hands, see if you can find where the British keep their files. Burn them all, leave no trace."

"He...Karl you....breaki....up". came back a voice he couldn't recognise. The entire frequency was being engulfed in static.

Then he noticed the growls.

He turned and fired from the hip catching the first Hybrid in the stomach. The small bullets creating dozens of punctures in its chest. It dropped to the ground only for another to step over its corpse, and then another, and another.

He took cover behind an alcove breaking off from the small hallway. Bullseye bullets giving off the smell of smouldered rock as they impacted against his position. He fired around the corner blindly emptying the whole clip. More to make them think twice before advancing than actually trying to hurt anyone. Dropping the dual smoking magazines he inserted a pair of fresh ones. He hoped they were enough, he only had two more spare.

Stepping out he sighted and fired, the Hybrids ducked back from their positions. His eyes opened in shock as he realised one of them was the strange blue eyed Hybrid he had seen before. It stepped out into the open and unleashed a torrent of its own ammunition in return. But he sidestepped the poorly aimed response and opened up again. Too late the Hybrid saw it had been outwitted.

Or so Karl thought, the blue eyed Hybrid in a movement so fast it could scarcely be seen with the naked eye grabbed one of its comrades and gripped it in front of him. The Hybrid had only a chance to growl before Karl's bullets cut it down. The inhuman shield soaking up the rounds in place of its leader. With a snarl the Hybrid cast the body aside and with its remaining ally advanced under a screen of bullets.

There was no dodging this attack as the Sentinel retreated to his cover. Two rounds struck him and one penetrated his armour. He gasped as the white projectile buried into his flesh, pain already lancing up his side. But he gritted his teeth and peeked around the corner. The Hybrids had him suppressed now, taking turns to empty their clips while the other advanced. It was a tactic which had been used since the invention of firearms and Karl was surprised to see the two Chimera using it. Usually they did not have the heads for such manoeuvres.

He fired some more shots around the corner and managed to wound the ordinary Hybrid but it kept on coming. He prepared for one final burst of gunfire which would see him dead but might give him the chance to take out one of them. Better to die fighting than to huddle behind a lump of rock in fear. He leaped out from behind the wall and opened fire on the first of the Chimera. A spray of bullets catching it across the neck and stopping it dead instantly. He swung his gun towards the second of his attackers knowing it was futile. Already the blue eyed Hybrid's gun was rising, its finger already pressing the trigger. It was too fast.

Then in an almighty crack a bullet came from behind and caught the beast on the side of head. Half its face ripped off by the brutal slug. The creatures hand went to its head in shock. It's angular snout hissing a wordless snarl, before it fell to the cold cement quivering.

There at the end of the hallway stood Lina, nothing distinctive about her beyond her smoking Fareye sniper rifle. She lowered it and surveyed the dead Hybrids.

"You've been busy." she commented. Karl couldn't help but smile at that, talking about your kills was as about as close to casual conversation as Lina got. Even now she was chambering another bolt into here rifle, preparing for the next encounter.

"Thanks for the help." he said back trying to not grip his side where the bullet had penetrated. Lina would demand she remove the bullet and stitch the wound right now if she saw he was wounded. Blood and guts did not bother her in the slightest.

As she made her way towards him Karl looked at the blue eyed Hybrid. He wasn't sure why but his gaze drew him to the things now ravaged face. The left side of it was almost completely gone, even the three eyes. The other three were shut. He was about to move on when a stir of movement caught his eye. One of the closed eye lids had a crack of blue beneath it.

The Hybrid was faking!

"Lina!" he yelled but it was too late. With unnatural agility it leapt to its feet and gripping her by the throat hurled her into him, sending them both crashing to the ground. Grunting as another jolt of pain radiated from his chest he shoved her aside and aimed his Corkscrew from the floor, determined to go down fighting.

But the Hybrid was interested only in flight, running down the hallways as fast as its clawed feet would carry it. Karl opened fire as it rounded the corner and managed to land a few hits, but then it was gone.

Leaping to her feet and swearing in Russian Lina ran to the corner and stepped out gun raised, but turned to him and shook her head. It had escaped and trying to follow it in this labyrinth would be a waste of time. Not to mention dangerous.

"How did it survive?" she asked mainly to herself as she came back to him and gave him a hand getting up. Karl shook his head. This strain was evidently stronger than a normal Hybrid. And faster and smarter to boot. A deadly combination.

"I found an exit," she mentioned "I think the Grayskin is gone, I overheard some British radio signals detailing his Evac, he's heading to Somerset now I think.". Karl wondered why on earth he would be heading there but decided to leave such thoughts until they had escaped this tomb.

"Where is it?" he asked

-----------

The exit turned out to be a small elevator shaft, leading all the way to the surface. Activating a small radio burst flare unit they waited for the others to home in on the signal. In total fourteen Sentinels reported in. Jade and Fred, the two members from Blue Team who he had contacted over the radio along with Tom were missing. For a while Karl thought all three were lost, until Tom came in, the last of them.

"What happened?" he asked urgently gripping the man by the shoulder. Tom looked tired, his head drooped and his shoulders were slumped. And there was something else different about him. Something Karl couldn't place.

"Jade and Fred are dead sir." Tom Briar answered his voice lacking emotion. Karl took a step back. Three Sentinels lost in a single mission, was the price they were paying worth this Grayskin? It had better be.

"How did they die?" he asked quietly making sure no one else present at the lift could hear them. Best to keep up morale until after they were out of here and back at the relative safety of Grey Hammer.

"That Slipskull they mentioned came back with reinforcements," he said dejectedly "I killed them but it was too late."

Karl nodded. "I'm sure you did all you could." he said attempting to comfort the man. But Tom flinched away from his touch and walked over to the lift, facing the wall. He didn't say a word even as they boarded the waiting transports on the surface.


	3. Green Fields

Green fields stretched out in every direction, the pale moonlight playing across the blades of grass as they rustled back and forth in the silent wind. There was no noise, no activity; even the animals seemed to have forsaken the area, whether because of some natural occurrence or the Chimera was unknown.

Finally a dot emerged on the horizon, solidifying into a LYNX jeep as it came closer, its green hide blending almost perfectly into the foliage around. Upon closer inspection one might see that two people manned the small vehicle. One in the driver's seat, another in the gunner's, both clothed in black armour from head to toe, the kind which obscured any trace of humanity. Dark suits for dark work.

Karl scanned the landscape, looking for any sign of their quarry, the Grayskin. He had been close to capturing him at Somerset, but Command had been foolish enough to place another man in charge. A certain Captain Fumer, who had been a solid enough man but had forgotten the goal. Karl Manex had been forced to watch from the sidelines, evacuating a friendly American task force, while Captain Fumer had led his own men to doom. Upon seeing the vulnerability of the Chimera facilities at Somerset Fumer had ordered charges set, Goliath's dismantled, for his men to take any and all available targets. He had been largely successful, much of the base now lying in ruins. However he had forgone the objective, allowing the Grayskin to again escape and out spending his welcome, Chimeran reinforcements swooping in and killing dozens of Sentinels, Fumer himself finally dying and his second in command giving the order to retreat.

Bracknell had been a failure as well, Karl and the remaining men having been lumbered with the responsibility of evacuating yet more American troops working nearby, stopping them from committing the full extent of their forces. Karl had moved on before the target had even exited from the base, he knew when a battle was lost. Better to prepare for the next one than to fruitlessly waste effort on one already over.

The Grayskin was moving towards the centre of all Chimera operations in England, the Central tower, codenamed Pandora's Box. Karl had to give it to their target, he thought big, though why they were still chasing him was beyond him, they had lost dozens of men for this man. What was Command playing at?

Karl had men patrolling every route from Bristol to London, if the Grayskin so much as sneezed in this area, he would know about it. He was currently in the piece of country known as Bracknell, an area he would likely have to pass through, but Karl was beginning to doubt himself, so far this man had proven himself a master of evasion, had this move itself been nothing more but another feint? It could be.

Pulling out his binoculars Karl again examined the surrounding landscape, it was getting lighter, a few more hours until dawn. If he hadn't come this way by then he wasn't coming at all, they would have to extract and start tracking again, one step behind just like before.

"I've got someone wanting to talk to you Karl." Daniel yelled from the front seat, "Acknowledged." he replied simply tuning in his radio to the standard radio frequency used by offsite military. He was surprised when a voice answered him straight away.

"Hello Captain Manex I am Intelligence Officer Alexander," a luth voice supplied over the channel. "I am the correspondent your section has officially been designated for this operation, considering recent setbacks" Karl raised an eyebrow behind his visor; they even had their own personal Intelligence Officer now? Where they chasing the descendent of the king or something?

"Hello Alexander, what do I owe the pleasure?" Karl responded after a few seconds thought, best to always be polite to those working for intelligence, they could make life very unpleasant for you if they wanted to.

"I was shifting through some of your recent reports on this mission," Alex began "getting to understand the op better, when I came across that query you posted not too long ago, about that potential new strain you encountered at British Northern Command." Karl's ears pricked instantly, he remembered the beast all too well, lightning blue eyes, teeth as long as his fingers, and the speed of a jackal. He wouldn't forget that monster any time soon.

"Well anyway," Alex continued upon his silence "Considering you got no response I thought I might fill you in, while there is no evidence to verify the existence of these creatures there are other soldier's reports which are similar to yours, a Hybrid with blue eyes, extra strength and agility, and most interesting of all intelligence. What I and other officers here have theorised is that these Hybrids have a sort of telepathy like the Angels do, allowing them to coordinate directly not only with the Angels themselves, but with other troops, increasing coordination and efficiency." He then coughed, though for some reason to Karl it seemed almost like he did it on purpose, like a habit. "As I said officially they don't exist, but unofficially they have been designated the nickname 'Immortal', due to the fact we have set to ever have found a body of this strain. Watch out for these guys Karl, their the elite of the elite, whenever you see one of these you know the Chimera are committed."

"Interesting," Karl replied "a Hybrid which could think huh?" That would explain the strange behaviour, using cover and guards effectively when most Chimera could barely screw in a light bulb, a dangerous strain this one would be in battle. He only hoped he didn't run into any more of them, these Immortals sounded even deadlier than he had guessed.

"Thanks Alex," he said his voice full of gratitude, "I know you didn't need to tell me all that." he meant it too; it was nice to see a man in Intelligence which was so dedicated, as well as friendly. "No problem." the man answered happily, before cutting the connection. Karl turned his attention back to hills, when almost instantly a cloud of dust appeared to the West, the trail of what could be a LYNX jeep.

"All X-Ray units report" Karl barked into the com, turning his barrel around harshly to point in the direction of the vehicle. They were motionless now, and in this light and at that distance would be all but invisible. It was only a question of whether this vehicle was friend or foe. "Is anyone approaching Team Leader's position?"

He got a list of negatives from each of his squad members, and the same from the survivors of the Somerset attacks. The vehicle was closer now, definitely human, and manned by military personnel by the looks of it. No British patrol would be out here, it had to be him.

"All forces rally at the Kilo rendezvous point." Karl commanded loudly for the benefit of the no doubt listening Daniel. "I have located the Grayskin, everyone lock and load. I doubt he'll go down easily." Turning off the mike he checked his aim on the Grayskin, it was no longer moving directly to them now, flanking out to the side, moving towards the vast series of canyon's and galley's which dominated that direction. A shortcut which would save him an hour's driving time, but also allow him to be easily herded.

Cocking the machine gun, Karl's LYNX gave chase.

----------

Karl had put good use to the extra planning time they had before their target had approached. He had planned out a dozen likely scenarios, the first of which had been the Grayskin's entrance into the canyons. Long twisting alleys with cliffs of tough brown rock producing from either side for hundreds of metres, the paths twisted, met and separated seemingly on a whim, a maze of low lying ground.

It must have been a shock for the man when out of nowhere six fast moving jeeps, all manned by a driver and a gunner came tearing up behind him, but if he panicked he did not show it, he neither slowed down nor sped up. Perhaps unsure whether these people meant him harm, or just unnaturally composed.

Karl leapt to the front of the LYNX as they followed along the windy path, the phalanx of vehicles behind and to the side still keeping perfect formation. It was not the full brunt of their forces, Karl had more in reserve, but he wanted to keep them a secret for now. As it was they had enough force to overawe him, but to still work efficiently in the confined space. If things grew out of hand Karl could call in fresh troops to finish this.

"To the driver," he called out cupping his hands to his mouth, "We are of the American Black Op's division, we have orders to take you in, do so willingly and you will not come to harm." He waited for the response, he was a little unprepared to be honest, they had more than enough men to take him fair and square, any ordinary soldier would have surrendered by now.

The LYNX continued its steady pace for a second, as if deciding, or perhaps pausing for effect, and then with a screech the jeep was off, gunning its engines as fast as they would go. It was all the answer Karl needed.

"Break formation," he bellowed "Move in and secure the Grayskin, use non-lethal force." He jumped into the gunner's seat as he said the last part, the target himself couldn't be shot, for fear of his death, whatever his abilities where. His vehicle however was another matter, he was perfectly happy to rip that 4-wheel drive to pieces.

As one the six LYNX's separated, like a pack of wolves working together to hunt a Moose.

Karl was at the forefront of the charge, trusting Daniel to get the shot he needed. Pulling up of the left of the target's he sighted and fired the machine gun, cutting a line of bullets holes along its left flank, trying to shoot its wheel off. He was surprised to find that fire was being returned in kind, the man firing his carbine one handed. The attack was erratic and poorly aimed, but Daniel backed off all the same.

Seeing the gap two more of the Sentinels jeeps moved in, both gunners pelting the back of the vehicle with more bullets. With angles on either side the attack would have been successful , but out of nowhere a narrow of series of bumps struck all the vehicles, surprising the until now steady drivers, one edging too close to the Grayskin's vehicle in the confusion. Seeing his chance the target rammed his rear bumper into the side of the poor Sentinel's car. Sending the barely under control vehicle into the side of the cliff face. Fine, injured or dead Karl had no idea, they could be retrieved later.

The pathway without warning divided into two, a sharp corner hiding it until it was almost upon them. Swearing Daniel pulled into the right lane, along with three of the other jeeps, One Sentinel jeep and the Grayskin taking the other route. Karl thought they had lost them for good when he caught a glimpse of them to the left. The two paths ran parallel, and seemed to cross and divide at will. Without prompting Daniel dropped into the left road.

Ahead of them the remaining Sentinel vehicle was putting up a good fight against the Grayskin's. With a shock Karl realised it was Steve and Jack, Jack being the gunner. Steve was on a rampage, driving like a mad man, sweeping back and forth and ramming the vehicle in a violent display of road rage. Jack was no better, laughing and cheering as he let loose.

Engine revving they came up on the Grayskin's other side. Karl was just about to fire when Jack in a move which he thought surprised everyone leapt from the gunner's seat to his car's front bonnet, and then just as quickly onto the back of the Grayskin's car, Rossmore pointing at the man's neck lazily.

Yells of "surrender" and "give it up" were shouted and it appeared for a second the young Australian might have the man beat, but a second later he was sent flying, the Grayskin gripping the gunner's seat and violently spinning it, upon which Zack was resting upon. He hit the ground with a thud but not awkwardly, nothing truly hurt except his foolish sense of pride. Befit of a gunner Steve too had to back off, slowing his wheels and fading out of the fight and into the star riddled night.

With only one on one the Grayskin's boldness went to new lengths. Still driving he deftly aimed the back mounted armament one handed. Karl was forced to duck as swathes of fire hit the rock to his right. He could not believe what he was seeing, a three man vehicle being effectively operated by a single person.

They exchanged fire, Karl's in short tight bursts, the Grayskin in random sweeping movements. Daniel kept the man guessing, and sometimes Karl as well, the car bounding over the ground seemingly with a mind of its own. They ripped up the foliage as they continued the battle, bushes and grass finding destruction in the LYNX's gripped tires.

Finally the Grayskin's firing stopped; looking closely Karl saw his finger still pulling the trigger, before he removed it and smashed his fist against it in anger. Now was their chance, but to do what? Karl had been shooting more out instinct than any specific goal; his bullets had done no good so far. The problem bounced inside his brain as they tore across the shadowy canyons.

Daniel had apparently considered the same problem, making a tight swerve he came alongside the rogue soldier's transport, sitting neck and neck. His intentions clear even before the words "Board him, go, go." left his mouth. Karl just stared at them. It was crazy, suicidal, and something Jack would do. Oh why not?

Leaping into the air his hands went out, seconds away from grasping the side, but when two objects are speeding along at almost a hundred kilometres an hour a few seconds can do a lot. Seemingly the car sped forward, and his hands which were streaming for its flank now were now clinging to its rear fender, his feet dragging along the ground.

Karl gritted his teeth as his armour around his legs began to disintegrate before his very eyes. Calling on all his upper body strength he pulled his feet up and braced them against the back of the LYNX, moving up from a crouching position to a standing position. He was now up flat against the back of the careening car.

He climbed slowly and carefully over the top spider like, moving one limb after the other. The man still had his back to him; Karl slowly pulled his carbine from his back holster and with a grin undid the safety.

No ordinary man could've heard that small click which announced the change from safety to firing mode. But as Karl was soon to find out, this was no ordinary man, he was something far more...alien.

He turned and with an ungraceful but serviceable kick knocked the gun from his grasp, losing it to the vastness of the world outside their little bubble. Karl stood to his full height, from his position on back towering over the target. He leaped from his post, bearing down on the man in a tackle. They both went to the floor of the Jeep in a pile, jammed amongst the metal and cushioning.

They rose slowly from their positions on the Jeep's cushioning, Karl struggling to stand in such a tight place with such bulky armour, the Grayskin because without the helmet which had protected his adversary he taken a nasty blow to the forehead. As he rose Karl noticed a spanner jammed on the accelerator, so that was why they were still moving. It was just lucky the path had hit a nice straight, thank god for small blessings.

Karl looked into Grayskin's eyes, never having a chance to examine the man up close until now. He did not see hate as he expected, or anger, merely a sense of determination. They flashed gold for a second, and Karl twitched, whatever others said, he still saw those with the Chimera virus in them as slightly unnatural. Putting his palms outwards facing the man he said "I won't hurt you."

The man's eyes narrowed "I have a job too do, as do you, nothing else needs to be said." he advanced on Karl then, his gruff voice fading into the wind. Karl took a step back; he knew that any chance of convincing him was lost. Violence was the only way this rogue soldier would submit.

Unsheathing his knife Karl thrust, forcing his foe back. When he did he leaped back on the rear of the car, once again securing the high ground. The Grayskin was not fazed; he pulled his own blade from its place on his arm. Wielding it with what Karl could already see was practiced skill he attacked.

The first blow was from Karl, a small tight swing lightning fast, a feint nothing more. This was followed from a counter from the Grayskin, then a series of quick jabs and thrusts of his own. Their blades met there, the serrated edges catching. Going on the offensive he bombarded the man with knife work, only to be blocked at every turn. In close quarter combat few could match Karl, but possibly for the first time ever he felt overwhelmed. It took all his concentration to keep up, slowing he was being beaten back, pushed to the edge where the ground tared past.

His foe did not show emotion, just a hardened determination and... Fear? Karl was clearly losing now, conceding ground with every step. It must have been obvious to everyone around him that he couldn't win. And Daniel raced to the rescue, out of the corner of his visor Karl saw his jeep come around behind him.

"Karl catch this!" Daniel yelled hurling something, leaping Karl caught it, it was another knife. Caught by the handle and gleaming wickedly in the darkness. Turning Karl faced the Grayskin again, ready to reverse their positions.

Karl had not had much experience fighting with two knives at once, but he found he warmed to the style with little trouble. Now it was his enemy's turn to fall back, forced to stay on the defensive in the face of two weapons. Karl kept up the attack, slicing and whirling the blades in savage swordsmanship.

A bump unbalanced him; the car had been travelling so smoothly Karl had almost forgotten where they were. The distraction was all it took, a second and then the Grayskin had both knives out of his fingers and had his own placed against his throat, the threat no less intimidating despite the armour his suit offered.

He held his breath, completely still and at the man's mercy. He held no fear, unlike those of his enemy, he had done everything he could have done to achieve his mission, he was only sad that he was going to let his teammates down, to abandon them when they needed his most.

The Grayskin hesitated, indecision on his face. Karl realised he did not want to hurt them, so far he had not killed any of them, at least not intended to. A dangerous killer who took no pleasure in killing? Strange.

Then the world decided for them.

Suddenly the man let go, standing from his crouched hold to grab the wheel and kick out the spanner he had jammed in the wheel. The confused Sentinel stood, picking up on the discarded knives as he did. The man offered his back to him, desperately trying to control the LYNX, Karl turned to see what he was trying to avoid.

It was a sheer cliff face, the path turning so narrowly it was nearly at a 90 degree angle. Without hesitation Karl bounded to the back of the car, and into the vehicle which Daniel still kept waiting at his own risk. Diving into the front seat Daniel hit the brakes, bringing the 4-wheel drive down to a fast but more manageable speed.

The Grayskin however had less time and even less finesse, the vehicle still moving towards the narrow corner at a massive speed. There was no way he could survive, Karl's heart sunk. The jeep hit the wall, metal and sparks going everywhere, but somehow the thing stayed in one piece. The Grayskin gunned the engine and took off, by all the looks of it unhurt.

Karl felt happiness and anger at the same time, happiness at the Grayskin, the one who had let him live had not died. But anger at once again being evaded; he'd had enough of this. Jumping into the gunner's seat again he called in his reinforcements.

Jack and Steve were once again behind them, and the other three vehicles fell in as well. "Additional X-Ray units move in." he called his men once again falling into a formation. The Grayskin would be caught between the battle groups and netted, there was no way out now.

It must have been a hell of a shock as another pair of jeeps along with four more side car mounted motorbikes erupted from the passage before the Grayskin. They like Karl's group were in a perfect block formation, jeeps in the middle bikes at the flanks. With men before him and behind him the man was trapped, it was over.

Or maybe not, in flurry of dirt and grass the LYNX made a sharp turn into a shadowed passageway, the vehicle almost scraping the sides as it entered. Karl leapt from his seat in rage, they had been so close. His Sentinels were trained for unexpected outcomes though, and without hesitation plunged into the new road. This was a risky move; if they moved to fast they could crash and cause a pile up, moving one by one as they were. But if they went to slow the lone and more agile target might get away.

The task force poured through the winding path, headlights often revealing a turn or obstacle just seconds before they were upon it as they attempted to navigate the gloomy corridor. Foliage and brush littered the clearly unused way, scratching at the men's visors and vehicles as they swept by. Karl was standing from his position in the gunner's seat, trying to catch a glimpse of the Grayskin's headlights, but it was no use, if they didn't come across him soon he would escape.

Finally they cut into a wider canyon. The first car speeding along the straight didn't see the wall in time, it collided with it, smashing so hard that the fuel tank exploded, Karl looked at the wreckage hopefully as they passed it, but after several seconds and no movement he turned away. Yet more men lost for this cause. He was just glad it wasn't part of his squad.

But that thought was gone, as he saw the flashing of headlights before them. Daniel seeing is also gunned the engine, they were close now; Karl could smell it in the air. But as they gave chase he sniffed the air, there literally was something funny about it, a sweaty, grimy stench. He froze in an instant; he had spent enough time fighting them to know the smell of Grayjack's. This place wasn't as quite as it seemed, and at the same time this thought ran through his head his radio filled with the sounds of Lina's and then Tom's voice, the people he had assigned as scouts, crying out in warning, and the air filled with the sounds of engines.

Before him their target's LYNX came to a stop, its tires almost ripping under the pressure. Before them, suspended between the two walls by its humungous legs, was a Goliath, bearing down upon them. Below it Stalkers and Widowmakers along with swarms of Howlers waited, forestalling any small hope of passing underneath it.

The Grayskin's vehicle revved, about turning and heading straight for them, swerving through their stalled mass of vehicles and moving the other way as fast as its wheels would take it, the move seemed to break the spell on the rest of them, merely standing there, unable to take their eyes off of it.

"Move move!" Karl yelled coming crashing down to reality. Daniel was the first to react, sending the wheel spinning and turning their khaki coloured vehicle in the other direction. The other's both mounted on bikes and cars followed suit, but not fast enough, behind he heard the bellowing of cannons, and the jeep closest to him exploded in flames. He swore as the wreckage burned behind them.

The guns fired again and the earth in front of them exploded, sending earth clods and grass blades everywhere, knocking one of the motor bikers off. They drove through the flames, sending dancing patterns of light across their visors. Finally sweet protection came from the natural corner in the path, blocking them from the machine's weaponry. But there was no time to relax; he had to get the rest of his men to safety, while they still could.

"Captain Manex," Lina called to him over the radio "there are huge amounts of Chimera moving in on the canyons, I have no idea how Tom missed them up until now, forget the objective and fall back. Трaxhutecb" she swore in Russian abruptly, the sound of Chimeran screams and gunshots filtering in over the com. Then it went dead.

All this time they had been moving along the path unmolested. But as Karl turned off the radio he looked up to see a Chimera barricade, scores of Hybrids and Sentry guns protected by metal fortifications. He opened fire as they closed; cutting down those foolish enough to stray into the open, but it wasn't enough, the defences too strong.

Daniel obviously thought the same, seeing a passage veering off in another direction he took it, nearing coat hanging them on the rocky point separating the two roads. The rest followed, except one unlucky four wheel drive moving too fast to make the turn; he could hear them trading shots with the Chimera, before going silent. Karl hunched his back against oppressive quiet.

They erupted into a valley, a true one this time. A large secular bowl surrounded by rocky outcrops, only one narrow exit on the opposite end. Karl's heart sunk as he saw it too was blocked by Chimera barriers and guns. There was no way out, they were trapped.

The vehicles clustered together in the center, rallying about his command jeep, already many looking downcast, they were too far away from the exit to be shot at, but busting through wasn't an option either. Already Karl could see Widowmakers, Howlers, Stalkers and Hybrids welling around the way they had just come, blocking both sides, leaving them out in the middle. And to make matters worse he could already hear the distant thumping of the Goliath's four black titanic feet, lumbering towards them. The perfect trap, the Chimera would hold the exits while the Goliath moved in to bathe them in crawlers, a clever plan, too clever.

He scanned the tops of the cliffs which bordered their little hell hole, a strange feeling forcing him to do so, he spotted three tiny dots to the east, and picking up his binoculars zoomed in on them. Standing out in the open, staring straight at him with lightning blue eyes was an Immortal, half its face metallic, an attempted replacement for an old battle wound.

Flanked by two Greyjacks the Immortal he and Lina had encountered at Northern Command stared at him, its three remaining eyes rotating in their sockets, with a snarl and waving of its serpent like tongue it walked away from its vantage point. It didn't need to see them anymore, they were soundly trapped, with no where to go.

Karl brought his fist down upon the railing next to him, denting the olive green metal. They had been so close, and now everything had been turned against them, the Grayskin's vehicle lay just a dozen metres away, but capturing him would be useless now. Wolves lay to either side and the Reaper was closing in. The dandelions cresting the tops of the small hills in their little basin seemed to cry out to him mockingly, their yellow life seeming to mock him.

He gazed upon the surroundings, wallowing in silence and hopelessness, until something caught his eye, a small mound of rubble, standing out against the rocks of the cliffs next to it covered a small portion of the canyon's wall. He focused on it intently, was their a hint of wood behind the debris, perhaps an old mine, blocked hastily by the Chimera as they set the trap? It was a chance, and judging by the echoing footsteps of the rapidly approaching Goliath, the only one they had.

Using sign language Karl signalled the nearby Jack, giving the fist for LAARK, a pair of fingers pointing towards the rubble for two shots, and then a tight full hand jab for punch out. The Sentinel nodded slowly, easing towards the rocket launcher stored in his back compartment. They had to move carefully, or risk being discovered, if their every move wasn't being watched like a hawk Karl would eat his helmet.

Slowly he lifted the device out, hiding it under a piece of tarp. Karl had meanwhile been rapidly communicating with the rest of the group, using the signs to spread the message. He dared not use the radio or even yell. He had a feeling that their radios were being monitored, and an attempt might be made to stop their plans.

Finally with everyone ready Karl gave Jack the go ahead, picking the thing up with typical swagger, Jack fired. The missile spilt apart as he soared towards its goal, a whole host of mini rockets joining it as it struck. The rubble exploded in an inferno of man produced ordnance, the Chimera to either side leaping forward at the sounds of battle. The second rocket launched, it too adding to its numbers with a swarm of smaller duplicates. They too struck, almost right where the first had, there was no time to reload and fire any more. Hybrids, Howlers, Stalkers and Widowmakers were charging from their places, either unable to be controlled or realising their quarry may escape.

The task force made for the hole, the dust clearing showed a mine shaft, looking just barely big enough to accommodate their cars. They formed a single line as they raced for it, bikes and even the Grayskin falling in. Another bike was blown to smithereens as they drove, a lucky shot from a Stalker, the worst bit was one of the drivers survived it, but they could not waste the time to pick him up, leaving him there to die.

They hit the entrance and Karl ducked, the ceiling was just a little to low, and the frame and gun seat had been ripped from their vehicle like it was made of cardboard. He glanced back to see the rest entering the cramped subterranean escape route. He felt relief spread his body like sweet river water, but then harden to ice. They weren't out of this yet.

Staying crouched on the now vacant back platform of the LYNX Karl watched as one by one his men passed them, the passage being wide enough for them to move along side by side. Accepting a carbine offered by Daniel and several spare clips he waited, he would watch their back, Daniel falling into place at the back of the convoy.

A muffled thump came to his ears as they descended down into the darkness, dust falling from the rafters by the movement. This was quickly followed by a symphony of cries, high pitched Widowmaker screams, long Howler roars, small Hybrid snarls and hissing Slipskull mutters, all descending down towards them.

Like a fleeting shadow a Widowmaker emerged from around the corner, its massive frame just barely squeezing into the mineshaft. Even hunched as it was it nearly doubled their speed, spitting out exploding globules as it ran. He fired into its face, ripping a line of bullets into the right side of its merciless snarl; it kept coming though, even after a whole clip. It was above them now, its legs stamping to either side of their car. It smashed them from one side then the other, making him drop his rifle. With sudden inspiration he pulled one of his knives from its sheath and drove it into its throat. It gagged and spat out a reflexive round of exploding balls as it died, falling back into the darkness, its body detonating just as it disappeared from sight.

But the Widowmaker wasn't the only strain to squeeze into their exit. Behind the spider came Howlers, their eyes glowing ember in the dark, mounted upon each were Slipskulls, their light frames allowing them to ride and not greatly encumber their mounts. They raised their reapers as they closed, standing upon the sweaty flanks of their mounts with ease.

Karl sighted the nearest one and fired, puncturing its chest and sending it sprawling into the dust, seeing a flash of light he dropped to his stomach to avoid a barrage from another. He counterattacked, blowing off its head with a trio of well placed shots, but there were just too many. Already dozens of them, riderless or not were swerving to either side, moving up to attack vehicles further up. He felt the car veer to the right and crush something against the wall, Daniel making his own attempt to keep the things back.

With a leap one of the Howlers pounced onto the back of the 4-wheel drive. He kicked it in the face and fired simultaneously, knocking it off the vehicle with a yelp. He was just getting up when the riding Slipskull using its unnatural jumping ability burst forth from the falling Howler, flying straight for him. It caught him by the neck in midair and slammed him back down to the tray. He fired on his back, only for the creature to dart to the side, and when he checked his aim it moved again. Its speed so incredible it almost teleported.

Looking up into its four yellow eyes Karl lunged, attempting to grapple the thing, only for it to leap up to the speeding rooftop and bounce back down, and tackling him to the metal deck. He kicked out, this time at its leg, and in the brief respite this attack offered plunged his remaining knife into its leg, killing it as it fell.

He rose again, loaded another clip and continued his cover fire against the Howlers and Slipskulls, behind him he could hear and smell the sounds of battle, the rest of the line trying to fight off the raiders. But it was only a matter of time before one of them succeeded in their goals.

And finally it happened, one of the LYNX's wheels was lost, the whole thing flipping and tearing into the vehicles behind it. The whole procession fell apart, panic and destruction wreaked upon the Sentinels. Seeing a large piece of wreckage fall towards him Karl leapt from his place, grabbing onto a motorbike's sidecar as it went by, holding on for dear life. His vision swam in and out of darkness, he saw a Howler set alight go screaming past, then a Widowmaker crushed by a piece of debris, then men firing wildly, all flashing in and out of the obscurity. Finally the world seemed to stop spinning, and he arose, almost falling over in the attempt. He felt a figure support him.

"Come on sir, we need to get moving." came Daniel's voice, calm and resolute despite the straining circumstances. Nodding he tried to move, only to stagger once more. He looked at his chest; a large piece of shrapnel had pierced him right through the armour, blood was trickling down his side like a fountain. Dizziness wasn't the only reason for his loss of coordination.

Shrugging off more attempts by Daniel to help him he took a step, then two more; unable to find his carbine he grabbed his magnum. He had learned from his mistakes in Northern Command, he always had a spare gun on him now, even if the pistol wasn't his first choice of weapon.

He made his way along with Daniel to where the survivors seemed to be gathered, though admittedly little better than a walk. He cast a look at the circle of men, seeing many more had again fallen. He stepped back grabbing his head, their shadowed visors brought again the vision of that fateful day in Norwich. He cast off the nightmare, now was not the time.

"We have to move" he announced, pointing in the direction they had been heading before the pile up. The first wave of Chimera was either dead or had retreated, but more would be coming, there had been hundreds manning those barriers outside. He noticed the Grayskin, standing just outside of group, he should subdue him now, but he would need every solider he could get to survive this; he would keep the man free for now.

They moved as if his idea had been an original and well thought out one, when they really had no other choice. He hastened to keep up with, without vehicles they would be moving on foot, and he couldn't let an injury slow him down, slow all of them down.

Behind him he heard the cries of Chimera, but he kept moving. He activated the small flashlight on his gun turning the safety off as he did so. Let them come, he would be ready.

They marched for several minutes, their flashlights now the only source of illumination as the fires of their transports died away. Karl was quickly panting, but made him self stay focused, checking the rear, keeping the men together, making them turn this way and that as they moved through the labyrinth. It quickly became clear they would have had to lose their vehicles anyway, the corridor narrowed significantly as they walked, soon almost small enough to deny a bike.

"Sir" an anonymous trooper called gesturing to a sign. They all gathered around it, it was a directory, faded arrows with labels pointing to significant parts of the place. One which caught all their eyes was Exit, pointing to the right.

"Okay men, let's move" Karl announced upon analysing the sign. They quickly set off in the direction the directory stated lead to an exit. He could already feel a slight breeze, once they got out into the open they could radio for pickup or just hike it, the Chimera didn't have the forces to cover the whole region, they were going to make it! But as if God was punishing him for this hopeful thought, Greyjacks erupted from every conceivable direction. On them in an instant

Whether it was the cool breeze or just tiredness Karl was not alarmed, raising his magnum he opened up, puncturing its chest one, two, three times and sending it crashing down at his feet. He ejected the half spent clip and slotted in a new one, limping towards the sounds of fighting. He head shotted two more, distracted by other Sentinels, as quickly as they had appeared the Grayjack's faded, but he could still see their eyes. "Go!" he cried trying to keep them in view as he stumbled backwards, hoping to hold them off.

As one the long limbed demons charged again, the Sentinels still walking backwards fired into them, but it was like trying to keep the ocean at bay with a bulldozer, every time they focused on one part the others surged, a malicious horde of insects, never resting, never tiring. The battle began to stretch into minutes and still there seemed to be no end to them, the distance between the two groups closing with every second.

Finally the line broke, and the Greyjacks were upon them. Karl unloaded two more rounds into one of the monsters, the detonating bullets scrambling its guts. He reloaded and fired again, but the delay had cost him dearly, he whipped one with the handle and tripped another, firing rounds into the dark bodies as fast as his finger could pull back, but with a cry one seized him, pulling him up into the air, its clawed hands already beginning to pull, to rip him into two.

He looked into its eyes and pulling up his handgun fired a single shot into its face, one last act of defiance before dropping it, the gun's ammo spent. All the angrier for the wound the beast began pulling, Karl already feeling his muscles begin to rip, his skin stretch.

Then out of no where appeared the Grayskin, pouncing upon his would be killer and firing dual reapers into its face as it fell. Pulling Karl to his feet he handed him one of the reapers and then shoulder to shoulder supported him as they ran, firing bullets into any which got into their way. Rounding one final corner the Grayskin stopped, a shaking of his arm and a grunt urging him on. Turning around himself he drew something from his belt, a pair of hand grenades.

Karl seeing his intent moved as fast as his injured leg would take him; he had only seconds to get as far away from the explosion as possible, and at his slow pace would need every moment of it. Behind him he heard the clink and heavy thud as the small hand held bombs were thrown, a sign of what was to come.

The frag grenades exploded, and together the Grayskin and Karl Manex leaped into the air, the air behind them suddenly filled with fiery death. The Howls of the Chimera following them as they realised and experienced their doom, the tunnel itself moving and shifting from the force of the explosion. They landed together on the rocky floor, their armour being pelted by steaming rubble.

Finally the explosion in and resulting cave in stopped, and Karl dragged his battered body to his feet. Reaper still in hand he looked around fearfully around, expecting more Chimera to rush them and finish what the others had started. But the Grayskin had timed the attack well, the way they had come was almost entirely decimated, it would take the Chimera hours to dig through it all, if there were many left at all. He turned around and looked at how the surviving Sentinels were doing. Steve had a wounded leg, but the rest of the squad were fine. More of the other Sentinels had fallen, they had lost two more and had several more wounded.

He turned to see the Grayskin prop himself up just like he did, he gave Karl a brief nod before pulling himself to his feet and walking off calmly, perhaps to inspect the rest of the men. But he angled towards one of the exits, and from his hand came a grenade. Karl leaped forward, yelling for someone to stop him, but it was too late. They had grown too comfortable with his presence, forgotten they had fought less than half an hour past.

There was a gentle chink as the grenade hit the floor, followed by the sound of running feet and an almost unnatural silence. And then just like before the doorway exploded, the tunnel collapsing and sealing the way the man had escaped just like before, the perfect getaway.

Karl picked himself up for the second time. The target could wait, he had to attend to matters with his own team first. Pulling out the first aid kit he set to work, already activating the radio for a pick up.

----------

With a whir the last wounded were loaded onto the VTOL and away, now it just him and the small group who had come through still with the ability to fight. There task force had been cut in half, the only reason they still reached that statistic was because of the scouts, out on the borders and spared from the slaughter they had gone through. They waiting on them now, then they would be airlifted to one of the known power conduits and begin searching, wherever the trail led them.

Something moved out from the wilderness, and reflexively Karl raised his weapon, but then lowered in and with a shout ran to Lina, he had forgotten all about the violent end to their last communication. She looked horrid, her helmet was missing, exposing her white skin and dark Russian features, bloody wounds were all over her suit, cut clean through in at least three different places. He tried to support her but she cast him off, she would die before showing weakness. She gave a small salute, and then staggered over to a convenient rock, leaning on it with barely concealed relief.

So distracted was he that he didn't even notice Tom approaching him until he tapped him on the back of the shoulder. He had been another one of his scouts, along with Lina they had been patrolling the Western verge, the nearest Chimera base in that direction and the most likely place to show activity if they were discovered. He had wanted no one else but his own men to take such a responsibility, and yet still the Chimera had come.

"Karl, could we talk in private?" Tom asked glancing nervously around; he eyed Lina in particular, which he found odd. He nodded though and they walked a short distance from the others, Karl waiting for Tom to say what he wanted to say.

"Sir I'm going to be truthful with you, I wasn't at my post in the last half hour before the op." Tom announced. Karl took a step back, his face contorting behind his mask with rage. Tom had willingly abandoned his post! This whole damn fiasco was his fault, at the very least they would have got a few minutes warning.

"Why?" Karl demanded his voice cold, his fingers grasped his Reaper tightly, he had half a mind to shoot him right not for dereliction of duty. So much blood had already been spilt, what was a little more?

"Sir I had a good reason," Tom replied his nervous, no doubt imagining the anger Karl was engulfed by. "I've had some suspicions for some time, but now I have proof." And he pulled a small pellet from one of his many pouches and placed it in his leader's hands. Karl looked at it, he recognised it, and it was a Chimera signal emitter. All a Hybrid had to do was twist the top and a silent signal was emitted, marking a place for an attack, calling in reinforcements, or calling forward an ambush.

"I think," Tom said hesitantly "Lina is a traitor."


	4. The Red Structure

White frost bit the cruel ruin which was London, alien and human structures standing along side one another as far as the eye could see, all engulfed in the pure whiteness. It was July, and snow on this scale hadn't occurred at this time of the year in human memory as far back as it stretched. It evidently did for the Chimera though, they thrived in the cold.

A Dragoon perched on one of the many half demolished human structures which existed in the city. With a wing span of 30 feet and a cruel bird like face it might be mistaken for a prehistoric pterodactyl crossed with a mythological griffon. Except it had a dozen extra eyes on its head and metal scythes in place of its two front feet, as well as being constructed of the same orange muscle which all Chimera seemed to favor. This new strain the Chimera had developed served primarily as scouts and recon, but they were becoming a much more common sight in urban warzones, their agile and swooping nature allowing them to whittle away companies one by one.

This particular Dragoon froze on its resting place, one of its many bug eyes catching a glimpse of movement. It slowly turned itself towards the direction it thought it had seen something, its gait awkward when restricted to the ground. If it was a threat it would raise a haunting cry which could travel for miles and attack instantly, it had been a long time since it had tasted fresh meat. It hungered for it.

It licked the air with its tongue and sniffed with its nostrils, there was a small anomaly, enough to warrant a swoop. Gathering itself it prepared to spring, only for the noise of a Kingfisher to fill its eardrums. The two craft went roaring past, one carrying a light Sabertooth tank and the other flying escort. With a cry of glee the bored Dragoon leapt after them, ready to send news of this intrusion, or even attack if the opportunity allowed.

From behind the wreckage of what had must have been a British bunker Karl sighed, he had rushed his dash from the alley to where he hid now, and his impatience had nearly cost all of them their lives. He would have to keep a better leash on it in the future. With a gesture he called the rest of his squad to him, the coast now seemingly clear.

They moved quietly and quickly despite the leaving of the bird like creature. They gathered behind the galvanized metal and girders which comprised the shelter, crouched between the cold metal and the colder snow. Misty breath fell from each of their respirators; it must have been -10 degrees.

"That was sloppy Captain." Lina commented crouching with her Fareye held against her knees. She had a new suit now, the VTOL they had taken from the canyons to the subterranean Chimera tunnels luckily carrying a few spares, including another for Karl. The trip had been nightmarish, the caves packed with Chimera of all types and the Black Ops forced to do a clean sweep of the entire system or risk missing their target completely. Several causalities and hours later they had tracked him here, to the outskirts of London.

Karl ignored the remark. Ever since Tom's discovery he had barely said two words to her. Lucky he had his helmet or his shifty looks would have given his suspicions away. It all made so much sense now, their positions being betrayed in the canyons, the failure of her to finish off the Immortal in Northern Command, even her unrivaled ability to tell them where the Grayskin was going next. Some how or other she was working with the enemy, perhaps her infection with the Chimera virus had played a part in that.

He would have had her arrested, but there had been no time during their chase to send her away, and even he had to admit they lacked evidence. Still he knew, and he could keep her with the others and out of trouble. As long as she was still willing to kill Chimera he would play along, until he could safely confine her anyway.

Taking out his trusty binoculars Karl again scanned the area. This had been a regular pattern since they had entered the city, being repeated every block or so. They were heavily into enemy territory here; it wouldn't surprise him if there were over a million Chimeran troops located in London. What British Kingfishers were doing here was beyond him.

Satisfied they again moved out, scuttling like rats from shadow to shadow, stopping and searching for anyone or anything every block or so. They continually moved inwards, always angling towards that mountain of a tower in the center. As Karl stared at it, he realized that whatever happened, it would all end there. He blinked and shook himself, now where had that thought come from? Gesturing to his squad they continued.

They weren't the only Black Ops moving towards the structure. Despite their ever increasing losses two more squads of six were still under his command and proceeding East and West of him. He had expected heavy resistance, but from their own experiences and the regular reports the other X-rays sent him the whole city seemed deserted, only a few drones, patrols and Dragoons being glimpsed at and in far fewer numbers than expected. It was like the city had been emptied. Were the Chimera locked in some battle which had drained their garrisons?

Eventually Karl had had enough. This whole quiet stunk of a setup, and after learning of Lina he had become extremely suspicious of the possibility of a trap and this was one if he ever saw it, unless they had all disappeared for some other logical reason, but he sincerely doubted anything with that much good luck behind it could be associated with the Chimera.

Nearing a red brick warehouse Karl sent Steve up to the roof to see if he could spot anything which might explain the absence of the enemy's presence. The rest of them spreading out on the ground floor incase things went messy. Karl would have sent Lina up as well to cover him, but he didn't want her to be out of his sight even for a second.

Quicker than expected the man returned and without saying another word gestured for them to follow him. They did, the strange manner he was acting in making them forget military discipline. Slowly they walked to the roof and climbing over to the edge peered into a scene from their worse nightmares, Karl without even thinking traced the scar behind his headgear, awful memories filling his head as he did so.

Thousands of Chimera troops were on the warpath, a long unbroken line marching through the streets. Ranks of Hybrids walked in uneven but discernable squares, Titans in pairs shouldered along, lengthy rectangular ground transports rolled by one by one, no doubt they as well packed to the brim. There were so many, surely all of the Chimera in England were on the march, but to where, and why? Then suddenly the thought hit him, the picture of the two British aircraft clear in his head.

He stared at the marching army. No, surely they wouldn't, no couldn't be that stupid? To attack here of all places would be suicide, if the army wasn't enough to wipe the British army off the face of the earth the Goliaths would. Looking to his left he saw Tom leaning over the edge with interest, and recalled the disappointment when he had learned they had betrayed the British. Of course to him this would be a noble gesture, a last stand which would liberate Britain or kill them all trying, he would have to keep an eye on him as well; he may try to sneak away and join them, orders or no.

Stepping away from the view Karl began thinking; he had all the cards in his hand but what to do with them? He almost laughed when he thought of it that way; this should make no difference at all. With the Chimera out there they had a clear shot at the Tower; they could capture the Grayskin and finally leave this cursed isle. He should leave the British to their fate and focus on the objective. The irony that this was startlingly similar to their first misadventure in York and even more so to Captain Fumar's folly at Somerset was not lost on him. But he realized that he was going to do it all the same.

Gathering in his men he gave them his plan, he had glimpsed three possible targets from his brief examination of the landscape. Taking out his binoculars he again studied them, yes they would do nicely. A Stalker refueling station, a small conversion center, and a factory of some sort, if their guards were even half way reduced they would be juicy targets indeed. The Chimera would surely come running if they all went up in flames, battle or no.

"Why?" Lina asked ice in her speech, normally he would have seen it as typical logical her. Always putting the mission before everything else, but now he saw it in a whole new light, of course she wanted them to continue, a single man would hardly be as important as this campaign was for the Chimera. He glared at her from behind his visor, but answered anyway. He had not told the others about Lina for fear of them giving their conspiracy away, and they would see it as unusual if he did not reply.

"Firstly because this silence while so convenient for us," he began "Also allows our target plenty of room to hide and maneuver, bringing the Chimera back into the area will pressure him into revealing himself, he can avoid us, but not that." he finished nodding towards the convoy. He was rather proud of that point, it had occurred to him just moments ago and went a good deal of the way to justifying his plan.

"Secondly," he continued "Those targets are exposed and can be breached easily without loss of life or time, and what's more will help out our British allies, which struggle is ours." It actually went down a lot differently to that, Command were more than willing to sacrifice all of Britain if it gave them more preparation and Intel, but he would never tell Tom or any of the others that.

"And thirdly," he finished with a gleam in his eye which none but he could picture "Because I say so, and if you disobey I will have you shot right here and now, we are on a dangerous mission in hostile territory. I don't have time for people second guessing my command." He wouldn't have shot any of them short of them shooting him first, but they didn't know that. Or at least he hoped they were unsure, command was often a balance between fear and respect.

Lina nodded as if conceding the point, but she seemed to go a little rigidly about preparing her self. Or was he just imagining it?

He relayed the plan to other the squads. Blue team would hit the conversion center, Green team would strike the factory and they the Red team would launch an assault on the Stalker refueling bay. All teams had a few demolition charges on them, and with all the petrol at their target they could blow it up faster than lightning.

"Go, go, go!" Karl whispered into the com line. And in front of him he heard the sounds of gunfire. The place was manned by two Steelheads and eight Hybrids, along with however many Menials. It was enough to make a direct assault for them difficult, but Karl knew it was a mere skeleton crew to what the station would have normally held. The building was an open circular courtyard surrounded where the waiting vehicles were reenergized and refueled. It was surrounded by a set of catwalks coliseum style with a pair of watch towers and an outer wall thrown in. The security detail had all grouped together in the centre though, meaning the X-rays had virtually free run of the outer area. It would cost the Chimera dearly today.

The squad of Hybrids and Steelheads went straight for Lina Daniel and Tom, not even considering the possibility of a diversion. The trio upon gaining their attention withdrew, laying down cover fire as they retreated. Their goal was to lure them out into the open and god willing flank and eliminate them, or at the very least hold them. Everything seemed to be going to plan so far, his men retreated and the Chimera followed. The rest was up to them.

Nodding to Steve and Jack they burst into the courtyard, using Magnums they moved through the mess of Stalkers and Menials, clearing out the latter as they came across them. Reaching the center he gave another nod to his squad mates and began working on removing the grate below him, if this bay held true to others he had encountered then this would be where the petrol would be kept, but he would be dangerously exposed while placing the bombs and had to rely on the other two to cover him.

Managing to get a grip he lifted the steel mesh placing it to the side. Below as he had hoped were the fuel vats. Three of them, each one probably holding more than a 100 litres, a small charge in each would blow this place sky high, there were over twenty Stalkers sitting around him, a sizeable loss for the Chimera. He tried not to focus on the gunshots coming from Jack and Steve's Magnum's and set to work.

Pulling out the first hose he set the timer on all three charges and put the foremost explosive into the dark oily pool, reattaching the hose as he did so. Using a similar method he set the second charge and was just preparing to place the third when things started to go seriously wrong. From another entrance several more Hybrids came in, perhaps to relieve the forces already stationed here or just on patrol. They froze when they saw the three Black Ops out in the open, and immediately moved into combat formation, making grabs for their Bullseye's.

"We've got hostiles captain!" Steve shouted pulling out his Hailstorm as they lost any semblance of stealth. He poured fire onto the Hybrids, forcing them to scramble for cover. Jack lacking a long range weapon kept up the pressure with his magnum, for once not wasting time with a sarcastic remark. Karl gulped and tried to not to rush the third bomb, but it was hard when bullets were flying above his head. Finally he got it done and leaped to his feet, pulling out his carbine. But things had only gotten worse in the few seconds it had taken him.

"Those Hybrids are going for the Stalkers Captain!" Steve bellowed with a particularly vigorous stream of green bullets burying themselves into the bowels of one of the monsters. Some were indeed climbing into the vehicles, no doubt planning on using them on this new threat. There were too many to stop them all and to make matters worse another squad was coming from another of the side entrances, and above all the clocks on those charges were ticking away. He had only put three minutes on them.

Eyeing the closest Stalker Karl leapt onto its side and clambered up, opening the cockpit as he did so. He jumped into the drivers seat and quickly glanced at the controls, there was the locomotion, rotation, speed, power levels, fuel, where were the guns? Noticing the seat behind him he leaned over the edge of the controls.

"Get in here!" he yelled at Steve ducking as a flurry of Bullseye shots bombarded his vehicle. Steve looked at him as though trying to understand and failing, but leaped in anyway, quickly seating himself in the gunner's seat, figuring out the controls. That left Jack, still firing shots from behind them.

"Jack," Karl called to him "Cover our rear from that new squad, then punch out of here and meet up with the rest at the fallback point." Jack looked at him and nodded. Truth be told Karl didn't want to leave him in such a position, he was by far the most hotheaded of them all, and couldn't entirely be trusted. Still there was no time to swap places, what was done was done. "Make sure you get out of here in time," he cautioned just before he sealed the hatch "In less than two minutes this whole place is going to blow." With that he activated the power and set the thing moving, already two opposing Stalkers were closing in.

Through the display he watched the two green dots approach them, they turned red instantly as smaller red specks began speeding towards the blue orb representing them, data being fed by the two viewing ports. He waited until the last minute and then pushed hard to the right, cleanly dodging the two missiles. Keeping an eye on the display he moved forward, dodging left and right to avoid and spread out the damage. It felt strange to not be in control of the weapons, and even more to feel so detached from the battle. The hits which landed were barely a shudder to him.

Looking through the display he saw the first of their adversaries detonate in a violent explosion and quick to press their advantage charged the second one, moving crab like from cover to cover Steve firing all the while. With one last push Karl rammed the opposing Stalker, sending it crashing to the ground and Steve firing their weapons point blank into its crumpled wreck.

But they had no time to celebrate. Three more Stalkers had been manned and were coming around near the vehicle entrance. Karl turned to face them but his squad mate was faster, a trio of missiles blew the centre one up before it even knew what hit it. The other two Stalkers after a second's pause turned and began moving away, heading out the entrance. Did they know about the bombs? Or were they just retreating after the massacre of their allies? Either way they had best get out of here, with a bomb about to go off and two Stalkers to hunt they set off after them, clearing the facility.

Their foes did not retreat quietly. More missiles and bullets flailed against their hull as they gave chase, and despite Karl's eagerness to finish them he had to admit they weren't invincible. The indicator put their armor at about 60%. But finally they got a lucky break, one of the Stalkers stepping over a piece of rubble got stuck, and its teammate wasn't willing to stick around. Alone Steve and Karl butchered the machine, which while putting up an admirable fight couldn't compete with next to zero movement. The next one was finally brought down when it strayed too close to a building, a long range blast knocking a wall down on top of the spider mech and crippling it.

Karl sat silently as the smoke wafted up from the last kill, despite barely moving a muscle he was covered in sweat. And he hadn't even been in significant danger? Amazing what adrenaline would do to in the heat or battle, emotional stress could often be worse than the physical. He knew, he had experienced it, he had never forgiven himself for letting his fellow men down at Norwich, it had taken weeks of counseling to get as far as he had now. To know that the Chimera had been expecting them in advance, that there was no way he could have spotted the reserves waiting underground.

On the radar something caught his eye, a small red dot moving across the display. It was too small to be another Stalker, it had to be infantry. Taping a button he made the viewing ports focus on the man, and indeed it was a man, badly pixilated but still a man. His gaze narrowed as he recognized the clothes, haircut and build of the 'Grayskin', he had evaded them this far. But fate had brought him to them again; there would no escape this time.

"You see him?" he whispered turning them around to face the man, making sure to do each step slowly and carefully. He had not noticed them yet; they were half concealed behind a snowy rise, and easily a hundred metres away, but he still whispered, paranoia at its finest. Their target was in some kind of a square, a nearby improvised Bunker might allow him to hide for a while but overall the space was lacking cover, perfect.

Gunning the motors he urged their Stalker onwards, charging over the top of the slope, finally hitting the banks surrounding the square and Steve training his gun turrets on the man. He had seemed so tough back in the duel between them near Bracknell, but now he was little more than an insect. Dwarfed by the enormous machine they rode in, but all was not well. Despite their charge the Grayskin ignored them. Focusing instead on two steadily approaching planes, the same two Kingfishers Karl had glimpsed earlier. They were bringing him a Tank!

"Fire," Karl ordered his voice cold. Behind him Steve froze, no doubt considering the sickening logic behind the order. If they managed to get the armor to the Grayskin he would be all but untouchable. Their Stalker would be trounced by its cannons in seconds, the human's heavy vehicles one of the few areas where they had the upper hand.

"Do it now or we risk losing him forever!" Karl commanded his voice growing firm. But still Steve hesitated, his sights resting on one of the two approaching aircraft. Snarling Karl reached back violently and pulled the trigger, sending a missile speeding towards its target. It struck the one flying escort dead center, going down in gouts of flames. He noted sorrowfully that there was no chance of survivors; the cockpit had been completely bashed in. But the damage had been done, and the other helicopter was breaking off, please let those pilot's sacrifice not be in vain.

Pressing forward the Stalker slid down the bank of snow, and without hesitation Karl pushed it into battle.

The Grayskin fought back, equipped with a multitude of weapons he gave battle with everything he had. LAARK rounds slammed against their armor, Hailstorm bullets bounced off their cockpit, and grenades were presenting a serious danger of obliterating one of their legs. Karl was a competent pilot, and knowing the weakness of the power core kept them facing the enemy for the most part, but the man was relentless. He moved with a grace Karl had never seen in a soldier before, and the few wounds Steve managed to inflict on him healed over in seconds.

Almost subconsciously Karl went on the defensive, trying to maximize the distance between them, swooping in behind the shelter in an effort to find some relief from his enemy's ammunition. But if anything this only heightened the man's aggressiveness, he moved closer, punched harder, draining their vessels health faster and faster. Eventually Karl hung his head in defeat, this man…was…just…too…good!

Activating the self destruct he opened the cockpit and grabbed Steve by the arm, hoisting him up from his seat. The groaning from the Stalker while it prepared to explode had warned the Grayskin to flee, and he did so ducking for cover behind a snowdrift, not even sparing a glance for the doomed machine. They had about five seconds to make themselves scarce, and not just because of the soon to blow up vehicle.

Practically picking up the man he chucked Steve into one of the large windows in the building opposite from where they had come in, following suit he grabbed his magnum and lacking time for his other firearm leaped after him. Breaking yet more glass and landing roughly next to his comrade, restraining the man's movements as he attempted to stand. Had the Grayskin heard the gentle tinkling of the glass? Only time would tell.

The Stalker blew up the next second, and he flexed as the noise and shock wave surrounded him, instinct taking over where rational thought ended. The firestorm ended and he lay still, if they wanted to survive they had to play possum. If a Stalker had been unable to take the man down a lone magnum would hardly do the job.

He heard the crunching of boots and the sound of the bolt of a rifle being rammed home. He closed his eyes, trying to prepare for the pain a bullet would inflict when unloaded into his skull. Instead more footsteps and the sound of rotors came into his awareness, the Kingfisher making its drop. He risked getting up and looked out the window; the target was already getting into the tank and for now beyond their reach.

Grimly he and Steve made their way back to rest of their squad. Their hearts were heavy not only from the once again failure of their mission, but because of the fellow human beings Karl had been forced to murder. 'What is this war turning me into?' he questioned mentally as they proceeded down the wreckage filled alleyways. The answer was something horrible, a monster who thought of nothing beyond the next mission, the next objective, like Lina. The thought that he may be becoming something remotely like that cold hearted backstabber almost made himself sick. He fumed as they ducked into a building to avoid a roving dropship. Now that their infrastructure was threatened the streets once again seemed to be alive with the enemy. Though not in the numbers he had glimpsed at the convoy, evidently at least some of the army was continuing to the warzone.

The Chimera presence meant it took half an hour for them to get back to the meet up point, sticking to the shadows and at one unlucky instance forced to gun down an ambushing Dragoon with all of Karl's remaining ammo. Finally though they reached the school they had chosen as a meeting place when the mission was done. Moving into the darkened class room Karl saw that Jack was there, kneeling in a pool of blood. After a second of frozen indecision he ran forward pulling his gun free and searching the room for an attacker, but there was none.

Dropping the weapon he ran to young Sentinels side, only to see the blood was that of another one of his squad mates lying at Jack's knees. The Australian was trying to stem the bleeding; sobbing quietly behind his helmet, knowing it was not enough. Removing the head covering he saw that it was Daniel, his shaven head sickeningly pale. His eyes still shone with life, but not for much longer.

"Lina." Karl whispered with all the malice he could muster. Quickly pulling out his med kit he tried to see if anything could be done, but the wounds were too many and too deep. Knife wounds were everywhere, chest arms legs even his wrists were slashed. Several gunshots were also in evidence, Karl counting at least three on his chest. Whoever had done this had either been unforgiving or Daniel had put up one hell of a fight, probably both. But there was nothing he could do; even the best surgeons in the world could have bought this man less than minutes.

"Karl." His friend struggled to speak, his voice dry from lack of saliva, he retched and coughed, specks of blood flaking his mouth. Karl tried to quiet him, but he would not be quieted even in death. With great effort he spoke "Got me from behind Captain, caught me by surprise, traitor…" he stopped there, another bout of coughing silencing him, but the dutiful words brought Karl back to reality, this was still a military situation, and he needed every word he could get from the man while he still lived.

"Daniel, where did she go?" he asked his voice trembling, immeasurable sorrow and anger were building up inside of him, but he needed to know, needed this answer, to gain vengeance, to gain purpose, to unleash the maelstrom within him or die in the struggle. But Daniel just looked at him with a mystified look on his face. "She?" he said questionably as thought trying to grasp the word, his condition obviously sapping his thinking power.

"She," he stated resolutely, trying to be the rock which held him down from the heavens above. "She who betrayed us, she who has been working with them, she who," he brought his hand down to dip into the crimson pool of death around his friends body "did this too you." showing the blood trickling down his fingertip and onto his body armor.

"Lina?" Daniel asked his voice growing fainter with every breath, his eyes beginning to dim and breathing becoming ragged. "Heavens no Karl, Tom was the bastard who did this too me." Karl stared at him as though he had sprouted an extra head. Slowly he turned around, looking for Tom. Surely he had just missed him in the rush, Daniel must be delirious. But there was no silent figure, short stout frame walking towards him, ready to explain everything. He looked back at Daniel with a new light in his eyes.

"Took Lina hostage," Daniel went on, either missing Karl's surprise or not wasting the time to acknowledge it "She made him work for it, but he got her, he left me alive on purpose Karl, he wants you to follow him." Another noise rose from his throat, gurgling. The man was drowning in his own blood.

"Where," Karl asked softly taking off his helmet and looking into the man's eyes, trying to hold the man's attention. He had but seconds left, and he needed this answer. "Where did Tom go Daniel?" he answered almost pleading, "Daniel you have to tell me!"

Daniel tried to speak but couldn't manage it; instead he raised his hand, and drawing on every last drop of his remaining strength pointed through the window to the colossal building in the centre of London. It had many names, Pandora's Box, the tower, but the most fitting by far as Karl felt as watched the last action of his dying friend was the Red Structure; the blood dripping from Daniel's gloved hand. With a gasp he lay back, falling to the floor again.

"He said he would wait for you there," Daniel so faintly that it could also be mistaken for the wind, "That it would all end there." And after those final words he laid still, his breathing and the blood welling from his gashes ending in unison.

Karl stepped up from his comrade's body; they had known each other for five years. Daniel had always been the rock at his back, the helping hand at his side, and now he was gone. Walking away he looked into his own helmet still resting in his arms. Gazing into the black voids which were its eye slits he saw his reflection, something was running down his face. Tears, the essence of sadness and pain, he smiled sadly as he thought that he had been wrong, he was nothing like Lina, and she was nothing like he had thought she was.

Looking out the window Karl gazed at the tower which his friend had pointed to, so big it almost reached the clouds. Yes he thought as he remembered Daniel's last words, it would all end there.


	5. White Knight

"No," Karl stated firmly "Out of the question."

"Come on Karl, you'll need us in there. Even a Sentinel can't assault a Chimera tower all on his own." Jack persisted gesturing to the colossal structure before them, tall and mighty. The fight to the entrance they now stood before had not been an easy one, a string of dead Hybrids a testament to their struggle. Despite the joint American British assault there were still plenty of Chimera around.

"One man can move more quietly than three, this won't be about brute force, it'll be about stealth." Karl rationalized shaking his head, helmeted and dark. An ominous shadow appeared to have settled on him since Daniel's death. They had used a grenade to dispose of his body, destroying what was left of his friend utterly. It had hurt him to do that, but it would have hurt him more to leave him there, to be used as food for the Chimera. He had saved the helmet, buried it in the snow nearby. If he had time he'd come back and get it, something of Daniel's deserved to live.

Karl turned his back on the pair, thinking the argument over, but Steve, who was standing next to Jack surprised him by stepping forward.

"That's a bullshit answer and you know it, Karl." The dark skinned man said grabbing him by the shoulder, a big mistake. In a single move Karl rounded on him and twisted, bringing the soldier around until he was at his mercy, arm able to be broken in a heartbeat.

"You will obey my orders!" he snarled, practically visor to visor with his comrade.

"This isn't about logic," Steve whispered ignoring the pain "This is about you being scared of losing us. Daniel told us what happened at Norwich, it wasn't your fault Karl, no one could have known." Karl stared daggers at the man from behind the tinted glass, and his grip tightened, but still the man continued. "Their deaths weren't your fault, they all knew what they were doing when they signed up for this, and Daniel knew that too."

"AND LOOK WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM!" Karl roared tossing the man to the snowy ground, turning away from them both, smashing his fist against the wall of the tower. "No life, no purpose, not even a grave. Do you want to end up like him?"

"No," Jack replied "But we want to stop the same happening to you."

The words sobered Karl up fast. They were willing to face death and worse, to go into the very maw of the abyss itself, just to keep him alive? The thought lit a fire in his soul which temporarily fought back the shadows, if not banish them.

"You can radio in a VTOL and keep an exit for me, stay nearby in case I need a hand fast," Karl finally resolved turning around to face them once more. "That's the best I can do." Jack looked like he was about to object, but a look from Steve quieted him. With twin nods they turned, already organising that VTOL.

With a final wave neither saw Karl turned around to face the entrance, pulling his Bullseye from its clip on his leg, making sure the Carbine still clung to his back. Both were loaded with as much ammo as he could carry, along with a couple of grenades. All scrounged up from the less fortunate on the battlefield.

With a deep breath Karl entered the labyrinth, walking to the huge circular elevator and activating it, the thing slowly carrying him up into the heart of the tower. He was no white knight, no hero, but he would be damned if he would let Lina go to her death without a fight. A small "Good luck." came over the radio, from Jack or Steve, or even the Intelligence Officer Alex he couldn't tell. Transmissions from outside would be few and far between in here, the tower walls would see to that.

[----------]

"I'm glad you decided to accept my invitation." An elated British voice taunted from his radio, on a line only his team knew.

"Come out Tom so I can kill you!" Karl yelled to the tower as the elevator reached its peak, as if expecting the red haired man to materialize out of thin air.

"Hmm let me consider... No." Tom replied chuckling "However, if you truly think you can kill me Karl, Lina and I are exactly twenty floors above you right now. I'll be expecting you." With that the connection was cut, and Karl gripped his Bullseye a little tighter. Tom sounded confidant, and what's more unstable. Karl fidgeted as he scanned the room. It was empty, so how did the man know where he was?

He began moving down the gunmetal grey corridor before him, the hisses of steam and the distant clanking of automatic machinery his only companions. He kept to the right side, clinging to the wall as if it were a lifeline, trying hard to make as little noise as possible, checking each corner before he rounded it. He spotted a few distant menials and some patrol drones, but he gave them a wide berth.

Reaching a ramp Karl began to climb, walkway spiralling in slow circles around the small room as it ascended. The Sentinel began to pant as the weight of his armour and weapons bore him down, making what would ordinarily be an easy walk a mountain hike. When he reached the top he leaned against the wall, catching his breath, raspy even without the respirator. He was now about five stories closer to his goal, and still no significant resistance.

The reason became apparent in the next room.

He opened the door, and stopped as he saw what the room contained, frozen like a rabbit caught in a car's headlights. Senses taking over Karl dived to the ground, trying to lie as flat as he could, to make himself invisible to the thousands of marauding eyes below. He was on a walkway, surrounded by black tinted glass, suspended above a room which probably could have held a couple of football fields easily. But that wasn't what had Karl worried; it was the gigantic swarm of Chimera which stretched out like an endless sea below.

Hybrids, Leapers, Howlers, GreyJacks, Titans, Widowmakers, all of them were strode forward in one single unorganized sprawl, often trampling one another as they advanced. Karl lay still not even daring to breath, waiting for the inevitable cry of alarm to go out. But nothing happened, and careful as a mouse he raised his head, then his torso, no reaction to either. Finally standing up he waved his hand before the glass, clearly it was a one way window.

But this new confidence faded instantly as the Angel flew by, Karl scrambling for the floor once more as the creature soared past like a squid through water. It darted back and forth across the masses beneath it, seemingly intent on their progress. If it was single handily moving every one of these soldiers then it must have its hands full. Shadow passing over Karl one more time he stood up, and for just a second the Angel's eyes seemed to lock on him, golden suns full of hate. He shivered as it turned back to the hoard, and slowly the Sentinel edged across the walkway.

He reached the other side and letting out a sigh of relief entered the hatchway waiting there. It was a small tunnel, and seemed to continue upwards which was exactly what he wanted. Steam and gas filled the confined space as he proceeded through it, hissing from nozzles positioned on the sides at regular intervals, pooling at Karl's feet. He was glad for the gas mask; he doubted the odour would have been pleasant.

The tunnel seemed to stretch on for miles; Karl walking along it for at least ten minutes with no end in sight. It continued to rise, though with some twists and deviations along the way. He tried working the radio a few times, but all he got was static. Tom was keeping quiet, and Jack and Steve must be behind too many steel walls, not that he had actually expected to reach anyone, enemy or ally.

But he was wrong, something did hear him.

With a crash an Angel burst through the top of the tunnel, tremendous bulk practically filling the small cramped space before him, doubled in on itself in its attempts to squeeze into the circular corridor. Karl trained his Bullseye on it, compact rifle braced tightly against the crook of his arm. But something held him back; the Angel was just hovering there, giving a slight keening noise from its snake like mouth. He held his fire, inching backwards. Considering how quickly this beast had moved earlier he estimated he might get off ten shots before it reached him, and then...well there wouldn't be much to say after that.

"You always were religious weren't you Karl?" Tom sung over the radio, voice off key. Karl just kept backing up, step by step, never letting his eye off the Chimera for a second, not even allowing himself to blink. A bout of loud mocking laughter erupted from the headpiece, merging horribly with the Angel's own shriek. And for a second, just a fraction of a second, Karl swore he saw a floating specter of Tom floating ominously before the monster, three sets of eyes flashing gold.

The brief second of hesitation gave the Angel just the opening it needed. Gathering up it propelled itself down the small cylindrical passageway, shockwave trailing in the mist behind it. Unhindered it made terrific speed, and Karl knew any chance of fending it off with fire had been lost. But that didn't mean it was over. With one final pump its four appendages the Angel lashed out, seeking to impale Karl from all sides. It would have got him if he'd stood his ground, but he'd long since ruled that out. Instead he rolled underneath its sweeping charge, just managing to fit into the small gap between it and the floor, holding up his combat knife as he did so.

The Angel went straight overhead, and with a flash of red he caught it right along the chest, between its two bottom arms. Brown and orange scales ripped as the knife caught, and the monster thrashed as it felt the damage, stumbling like a wounded spider in the air, muscles twitching. It rounded on Karl, but he was ready. Aiming at the floor with his Bullseye he fired a tag, and then holding down his finger emptied the entire clip into it, forming a scarlet vortex of energy.

The beast was halfway into another run when it saw the Bullseye trap, halting just in time. Hissing it backed away from the swirling ammo, the tunnel too small to bypass it without injury, not to mention the prospect of Karl setting it off. The Angel hovered, snapping at the air as crimson leaked down its chest, the tag would only last for so long, it could wait.

Without a second thought Karl turned and fled, sprinting along the tunnel as fast as his legs would take him. That Chimera would be on him like a demon out of hell when that tag inspired, he laughed dryly at the accidental joke as he pounded up the path. Demon, angel what was the difference? A small click sounded on his Bullseye, a red light on its top fading away simultaneously, and behind him he heard a familiar terrifying roar, one which rebounded and echoed in the tight confines of the tunnel, the metallic quality added to the pitch making it all the more terrifying. The tag had expired, now it was a race.

He reached a checkpoint, a small box like chamber not much bigger than a garage separating the two parts halves of the passage. Not even pausing Karl took out both Menials manning it with a single swing of his gun, twisted necks killing them instantly. He activated the small yellow turn switch as he passed, and with a sense of relief the hatch sealed behind him, he was safe!

The Angel reached the now shut door, the sound of incredible force impacting with metal audible. Scraping and scratching filled Karl's ears, and he backed up gun raised and loaded in response, stepping over the Menial's corpses cautiously. With a blow which Karl could only marvel at an arm burst through the door, punching through about 6 inches of reinforced steel as though it were paper. Swearing the Sentinel opened fire on the exposed limb, but it was useless, the creature was so incensed with blood lust he doubted a tank could have stopped it. Laughter filtered in over the radio, Tom was having a ball.

"You wouldn't shoot an Angel would you Karl?" Tom questioned with glee, and Karl recoiled involuntarily. The Angel's face had appeared in the quickly widening hole in the door, and its jaws with perfect synchronicity mouthed every word Tom said, as if the two were one. Karl aimed another burst, orange arrows catching the beast right on the nose. He had two options, run or fight, and seeing the lack of care of the monster for its wounds he once more opted for the first.

Swinging into the entrance at the other end of the checkpoint he dashed through the tunnel, feet clanging on the metal framework under his feet, himself only barely able to make it out over the sound of his beating heart. He could hear the Angel giving chase, but he didn't dare to turn around and see how close. He reached another checkpoint, and again taking out a pair of Menials hit the switch, not sticking around this time to see if the door would hold.

It didn't.

Karl's retreat began to blur, seeming to consist of an endless terrifying cycle of running, delaying and fighting. He ran through the identical circular corridors, took and sealed checkpoints as they came, and when the beast got too close bathed it in gunfire. But despite his efforts it gained on him with every step, each time getting just a little closer before he reached the next door. He was tiring too, body covered in a layer of sweat and grime, the adrenaline which had driven him so ferociously earlier was quickly becoming a limited resource.

Gasping for breath the Black Op stumbled around the corner. And seeing another checkpoint, staggered towards it, foot falls heavy. He reached the room, and practically toppling himself downed the lone Menial waiting there, sealing the room a second later. He turned around, ready to move into the next passage, but was faced with nothing but a shiny blank wall. This was the end of the line; nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

With a thump the Angel reached the hatch behind him. Perhaps it had sensed he had given up, or maybe it just knew there was no way out, either way it seemed to take its time. Slowly Karl twisted his neck around, trying to see how long he had, but he jerked, tired eyes flicking to the corner. He had been wrong, there was another way out!

He ran to the gate, filling the entire right wall of the room. Tiredness forgotten he searched everywhere for a switch, a button, a computer, anything. He finally saw the machinery to the side, and moved over to it. Hitting the big glowing button the power core in the machine crackled with electrical energy, and slowly but surely the door began to ascend upwards.

A particularly vigorous crash brought him back to the Angel, Karl turning around just in time to see two large serpent arms flailing around from the now half crushed doorway. The Sentinel quickly went from admiring the console to counting the seconds as the door rose, why was it taking so damn long? Behind him the gaps in the hatchway were getting wider with every second, howling and screaming filling the room as the Angel worked itself into a fury.

Finally up high enough to duck under Karl was on the other side, and moving hastily to the console to his left found and hit the close button. The power core sparked, and then slowly the door ground to a halt, and then just as slowly began to edge downwards, inching towards the bottom and safety.

"YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE ME THAT EASILY!" the radio and Angel howled in their satanic mesh of words and scream, human and alien. And the room opposite him exploded with debris, the Angel amongst it like a hurricane within its storm. Karl stepping opened fire, swearing after each burst, the door was still half open.

With a roar the monster reached the door, and with barely a pause began crawling through. Karl fired another tag, creating a vortex directly in its path, but it lashed out, arm shredding as it drove it through the horde of bullets, willingly sacrificing the limb to get under the door. Still backing up the Black Op loaded another clip, trying not to panic, firing with small precise bursts.

The Angel took every shot and kept on coming, its wounds only making it more determined. With a click the magazine told Karl it was empty, and before he could reload another he was tripped, a snake like limb coiling around his ankle. The beast gnashed its teeth furiously, rancid breath that of the grave. Quickly another arm grabbed the Sentinel, and then another, ready to tear him apart. That was until the door began lowering into the Angel's back.

Struggling Karl could see the cogs working inside the alien's skull. If it let him go it might be able to escape, but then so could Karl. If it hurried however it might be still able to kill Karl before itself died. It chose the latter. Screaming the Angel's grip tightened, determined to end him before it itself was ended. Blood, guts and bones began to pour from its chest, and its howling became muffled as its lungs were squeezed free of air. Karl gasped as the tentacles constricted around him, trying to break free, but the beast was too strong, driven, possessed. And it was then, with an almighty splat the Angel exploded, and flung Karl to the floor, who lay there gasping, staring at the mangled corpse.

Breathing deeply Karl clambered up, and eyeing the alien remains with distaste began looking for his dropped Bullseye. He found it all right, and for what seemed like the millionth time broken, half crushed under one of the Angel's detached limbs. Sighing Karl pulled his Carbine free from its holster, turning the safety off and running a standard check. He was sure that the chase must have brought him up the necessary twenty floors if not more, and, spotting a door moved towards. It wasn't like he had any choice anyway.

Karl hit a button, and the door opened to reveal an elevator, and without hesitation the Sentinel stepped into it, turning another golden switch on the other side. He massaged his sides gently as he went down, wincing from the bruises he knew were already forming there, a final parting gift from the Angel. Slowly the elevator ceased its descent; and with a short sharp hiss the doors parted, the room temperature which Karl had taken for granted up until now vanishing in a blast of ice. The cold cruel kiss of the wind buffeted him, and temporarily taken back he attempted to cover his visor with his hand, snowflakes already clouding his vision.

The Black Op had stumbled upon one of the main battle stations of the tower, open to the air along the whole right side of the room. Everywhere he looked Menials and Hybrids were either running back and forth, loading the string of anti-air and arterially guns firing into the distance or else refueling a small group of aircraft up back. In the corner a string of Carriers were bringing in human dead by the dozens, forcing Karl to look away in disgust as the Chimera leaped on them savagely, a massive winged Dragoon downing a medic in a single swallow.

Still in the shadow of the alcove Karl glanced left and right. The place was a swarming hive which could sting him to death a thousand times over, and try as he might he could spot no way he could ever hope to sneak through. Suddenly the roaring of aircraft engines caught his attention, and looking to the back of the massive room saw the Chimera had evidently finished refuelling. As if by some unspoken signal every single strain simultaneously began moving to the sides, not wanting to get in the way of the take off. For about 10 seconds all eyes were on the walls

Karl didn't hesitate, without a sound he ran, sprinting across the wide open space. He had already glimpsed a possible exit in the opposite corner, just to the left of the guns, and now he angled for it. The sound of the aircraft filled his ears as he they flew overhead, practically deafening him. A few seconds of noise, and then they were gone, and he knew that any moment now the creatures would turn around, and he was only halfway there!

Gathering every last bit of energy his tired body could muster the Sentinel drove for the door, and in a mighty flying dive flung himself into the hallway just as the Chimera behind him returned to work, he had made it! Pulling himself up Karl had just enough time breathe a sigh of relief before he looked up, right into the eyes of another Hybrid, mouth agape and evidently on some sort of patrol of the hallway.

Before the sentry could even blink Karl slogged it across the face, and grabbing the Hybrid by the wrist hurled in back into the hanger he had just cleared, over a dozen different alien throats crying out in realization as he sealed the door using a turn switch. Swearing he whipped around, already running, knowing that wouldn't hold them for long. Taking a turn Karl was confronted with another door, and as the circular panels slide apart he froze, eyes wide. The grey walls had been replaced by a winter snowstorm and the flooring by a long thin walkway. He wasn't in the tower anymore, and inching forward looked over the edge.

Below him, stretched out as far as he could see in all directions was London, a raging war zone. A ring of tanks had assembled, and firing their massive cannons sent shells ripping into the fray, killing dozens with every explosion. Beside and before them soldiers were assembled, using whatever cover they could find, muzzles flashing as they poured bullets into the enemy before them. Hovering above VTOL's and Kingfisher's dueled with Dragoon's amongst the stormy sky, dodging the AA fire which went streaking up towards them. From the base of the tower Hybrids, Titans, Howlers, Stalkers and more poured from doors and bays, numbering in their thousands. They were gunned down almost as soon as they appeared, but the stream never faltered, the Angels urging their troops into battle with no remorse. With their numbers they had only to kill one human for every hundred of their own, and the bodies of the fallen only served as cover for those who came behind them.

This scene, so beautiful in the flashes of explosions and guns, yet so horrible in the sheer level of carnage, entranced Karl, mesmerised at the combination of death and splendor. If a Hybrid had approached him from behind at that moment they could have gunned him down without any resistance. It was only when the sound of the hallway door exploding behind him did he snap out of it, the snarling of many mouths and clicking of many clawed feet forcing him to think rationally. He turned and with a flick of hand closed the door, locking it.

Knowing again that the door would only buy him so much time Karl dashed up the walkway, keeping low in case anything above or below decided they didn't like a human walking around on their tower. Strangely the walkway appeared abandoned, not a single Hybrid in sight, a clear run. The lone Black Op was certainly puzzled, but shrugged it off as the chaos of war. Little did Karl know that this along with everything before it was just one more step in the sadistic scheme of a psychopath. For just at that moment a figure dropped from the top of the tower, free falling over 40 stories worth of air in a second. Lowering his weapon Karl could only stare in amazement as he saw the shadow on a fast course to be splattered all over the walkway, yet...stopped? Jumper slowing to a gentle landing, a fan elevator positioned right beneath it.

"You've faced Angels Karl," Tom whispered over the radio, voice utterly filled with malice. "Now you must face your demons!"

The free faller rose from where it had landed, striding forward. A sharp intact of breath, the skipping of a heartbeat, the twitch of his inner finger, all this and more Karl's body did involuntary as the monster emerged. Eyes both artificial and organic rolled in their sockets, fingers twitched above the twin Bullseye's in its hip holsters, electric blue lines of electricity roving up and down its armor. Standing before him was an Immortal, the same one which had taken a sniper round to the head and survived, the same one which had so neatly trapped his squad in the canyons, the same one which came from a strain by all accounts no one had ever killed.

Karl brought his Carbine up, bullets flying before he'd even halfway raised it, pelting the beast as fast and as hard as he could. But the Immortal seemed to dance around the shots, blurring as it darted back and forth, not a single round landing. Snarling Karl reloaded, running forward, adding a 40 millimeter grenade to the barrage, but nothing touched it. The Immortal didn't even try to fight back, just weaved around his futile attempts at resistance, as if purposely showing him how useless it was.

Karl just kept plugging away, unwilling to give up, advancing slowly as he unloaded clip after clip after clip. With a click signaling the end of yet one more magazine he reached for another, and found his pouch empty. Groaning he reached for a grenade, but before his fingers could even brush the casing a shot rang out, the explosive cluttering to the ground. The Immortal had shot out the very explosive mechanism!

Quickly and systemically the Immortal disarmed him. Carbine blown from his hands, grenades triggers sliced off, even his knife wasn't given lease, spinning from his hand before he so much as touched it. Fists clenched Karl charged, knowing it was in vain but determined to go down fighting. But the monster didn't even give him the mercy of a quick death, and flashing to the right dodged his first swing, whirling around to slam the butt of both guns into the back of Karl's head, driving him down to all fours.

World spinning and vision blurring Karl barely noticed the door exploding behind him, nor the scores of Chimera swarming up the walkway from its wreckage. Utterly surrounded, the thought never even came into his head to escape, and didn't even resist as the Immortal knocked the helmet from skull, visor shattering as it did so. He didn't move, didn't act, didn't think, but something changed that.

"Karl, are you out there?" A familiar voice, Jack's, filled Karl's ears. His head darted up, brown hair trailing in the wind, blue eyes searching for the source of the noise. The answer came a moment later, his discarded helmet, balancing on the very edge of the walkway, mere centimetres from plummeting to the snowy ground far below.

"Captain, if you're alive sound off!" another voice added, sounding like Steve's. Sudden realization hit his heart, the VTOL! And leaning forward Karl went to speak, biting back frostbite as he sought to use his tongue to form words. But something held him back; something stopped him from calling to his friends for help. What would happen if he did call them? The AA net around the tower would be a treacherous thing for even a skilled pilot to overcome, not to even speak of the fight at the end sure to be messy whatever happened. The faces of those at Norwich came back stronger than ever, men and women he had unwittingly led to their deaths. Slowly he lowered his head, not saying a word; he would go down without bringing his friends down with him.

The Immortal towered over him like an executioner, tall and mighty. Slowly and tenderly it eased the Bullseye up under his chin, raising him to his knees, and then without warning slashed him across the face, razor sharp claws slicing into his skin. Gasping, searing hot blood bathing his ice cold face, Karl could only stare as the monster primed the Bullseye, pointing it at his throat, and then without warning switched to the arm.

"You're a coward, you know that?"

Bang!

The words and the bullet hit Karl as one, knocking him off his hunches, falling to the floor, face pressed against the grill. That voice was so familiar, cutting him to the bone just like bullet. Looking up, face scrunched up in pain, Karl could only stare in amazement, as the figure of Daniel, real as life, stood over him, face grim "Impossible." Karl muttered.

"Not in here." Daniel replied tapping himself on the forehead, staring down at him. "Calling me a hallucination would probably be accurate, but that doesn't matter, what matters is this Karl. Just why aren't you letting your team help you?"

"Because I don't want them to die for me." Karl replied as the Immortal stepped over him, slowly pointing it's Bullseye to his leg.

"Wrong. You're doing this doing this because you're scared."

Bang!

"No!" Karl all but spat between gritted teeth, clutching his leg, lances of hurt travelling up and down his body. "How...can...you say...that?

"You're afraid of the pain you felt when the Chimera used you as bait to get the rest of your squad in Norwich, you're fearful of the hurt you felt again when I died." Daniel continued, counting off each sentence with a finger "You feel responsible for your squad, that anything that befalls them is your own fault. "

"This is... bullshit!" Karl hissed angrily trying to overcome the pain stemming from the wound "You're telling me... to just let... them die?"

"No." Daniel stated, kneeling down over Karl, placing a hand on his heart. "I'm telling you to let people in."

Bang!

Thrashing as another shot rang out, this one stabbing into his other arm. Karl could only yell as Daniel, or whatever delusion which had conjured him vanished as if he had never been there. Bleeding furiously the Sentinel's mind wrenched itself in one direction then the other, torn in indecision. Body aflame he stared hard at his hand, the blood still there from where he had last held Daniel, and finally he made his choice.

"Team X-ray this is Captain Karl Manex, I'm on a platform on the east side of the tower, I need help." Karl yelled in the direction of the fallen helmet, hoping the mike still worked, praying the receiver would pick up his voice in all this wind. He didn't have a chance to say anything more; with another bout of inhuman screeching the Immortal picked him up, clawed fist grasping him by the neck. Bullseye pressed to his forehead Karl could see its clawed finger pressing down on the trigger; hear the hum of energy as the bullets coursed through the barrel.

Gunfire flashed like lightning from the heavens, catching the Immortal straight in the chest, bullets meant for Karl spraying wildly into the air. Rotor blades chopping through the misty sky a beat up VTOL came into view, Steve at the helm and Jack manning the door cannon. Packed closely together the a series of Hybrids were put down in rapid succession, those not already fallen scrambling to return fire, US rangers and main cannons coming around in return.

Knowing this might be his only chance Karl lashed out, armored boot catching the wounded Immortal right in the stomach. Enraged the injured beast fought back, knocking the rising Sentinel back with a kick of his own, swiftly darting out of the way of the pitiful punches Karl raised in his defense. Spittle and crimson trailing from its angular jaws it raised its guns, ready to end him, but then its eyes flicked around, hesitating. Despite a fierce battle the VTOL had eliminated most of the nearby Chimera, and with a final gurgle the Immortal fled, blue electricity flaring across its body as it ran up the walkway.

"Karl, use this!" Jack yelled, tossing him a Fareye sniper rifle. Weapon falling into his arms locked and loaded Karl hopped around to face the fleeing Chimera, watching as with a hiss of triumph it jumped onto the airlift, artificial currents pushing it into the air. The Sentinel tracked it through the scope, a one in a million shot, with wind resistance, an erratic target and blistering pain in his arms and legs. But closing his eyes Karl smiled, and then fired.

The bullet caught the Immortal right in the head, force of the slug literally blasting the beast face first into the tower wall. Slowly, almost peacefully the monster peeled away from the metal, plummeting down like a nightmarish ragdoll, and with the sounds of bones splintering it hit the walkway, floor denting from the impact. It whimpered as it lay there, against all odds still alive, and striding over to it Karl rammed the barrel of the Fareye into its mouth.

The noise, the bullet, the gore, the Immortal was dead.

Dropping the sniper rifle Karl stepped over the Chimera's corpse, and turning around was met with cheers and whistles, US rangers shaking their fists in triumph over his and their own victory. Jack waved, and Karl thought he even saw Steve give him a thumbs up from behind the cockpit. It wasn't all good news; Karl noticed several empty spaces on the VTOL's deck, but his team had made in through intact, and despite everything which had happened, all the Black Op could do was smile.

"Very good, Karl."

Karl flinched, words striking him like a cold blow to the stomach. Slowly he turned around, fists clenched, and sure enough standing at the very top of the walkway was Tom, helmet off, fiery and pale gaunt face leering in a joyous grin. Karl could only stare in despair as he saw the weapon in his hands, a LAARK rocket launcher, pointed directly at the hovering gunship.

With a bang a missile discharged from the weapon, slicing through the cold air with ease. It angled downwards at first, looking as if to be a clean miss, but with a click Tom activated the guidance system, red laser sight resting dead on the VTOL, and with a whoosh it soared upwards, exploding right into the soft underbelly of the transport, no piloting skill in the world able to deflect such a shot.

Karl stumbled forwards, towards the doomed aircraft, towards his doomed friends. A voice was yelling in his ears, and with a start he realised it was his own. The vehicle was bathed in flames, engulfing the whole thing in seconds. Men fell burning and screaming from its sides, Steve was working frantically at the controls and Jack was trying to get off a shot as they fell, gun reduced to slag in his hands. Smoke and sound belched from the vehicle it spun out of control, down, down, down, the crash as it smashed into the ground far below just barely audible.

"So much for the fabled X-ray team." Tom murmured softly, a vicious smile coming to his lips as he lowered his weapon. Karl was senseless, it wasn't possible, it wasn't even comprehensible. He couldn't accept it, his team were alive he knew it! But thoughts did not bring them back, the air remained empty, the radio stayed dead. Karl's world narrowed to a single person, Tom, the man who had just taken the lives of two of his closest comrades with a smirk on his face while he did it. He would MURDER HIM!

Karl turned and bellowing like a wounded animal charged, gun alien to him, knife like an old friend. Wounds forgotten and revenge fuelling him he barely registered the dart catching him in the neck, the mind numbing toxins surging through his neural system, blurring his vision and slackening his muscles. He managed to make just three more steps before he collapsed, the last thing his mind registered before slipping into unconsciousness, that he had once again failed his friends.

[----------]

Cold, that was the first thing Karl felt, stinging biting cold, that and pain. Running along his cheek and down his side, the Sentinel opened his eyes, and blinked as he found his face pressed to the floor. He went to move, only to find he couldn't, long thick criss-crossing cables binding him to the ground. Panicking he thrashed against his bonds, recollection coming back as he did so. Daniel, Tom, the tower, the Angel, the VTOL, the explosion. Each moment flicked across his mind like a waking nightmare, he screamed, but nobody would ever hear him, he was gagged as well.

The sound of heavy footsteps brought Karl's attention back to his surroundings, the Black Op's already narrow view of the room further constricted by the appearance of a pair of military boots. Slowly the figure bent over, and like a grinning corpse Tom's face leaned down from up high, extending a hand to pull back the cloth covering Karl's mouth. Roaring Karl bit down hard, drawing blood, Tom never even flinched, just smiled.

Finally Karl could take the vile taste no longer, and hissing spat it out. He looked up the golden eyed monster "Traitor." He breathed.

"Only from a certain point of view, Karl". Tom replied coolly, towering over his former friend as he stood back up, "In fact I would go as far as to say that in terms of betrayal, your country was the one to draw first blood." He continued turning his back voice rising "York was only the beginning. Ever since I joined the Sentinel program it's been one lie after another, lies about finding a cure, lies about retaking Britain. Lies! Lies! Lies!"

Breathing heavily Tom rounded on Karl once more. "Do you know everything about the Sentinels is a scam?" he asked, grabbing Karl by the neck "They spread the story we have natural immunity, but in truth they inject us with the Chimera virus purposely. We're walking weapons, used up and then cast aside when the infection runs too far. Isn't that right Lina?" he added almost as an afterthought.

It was then that Karl noticed sounds of movement, and straining his neck was just barely able to make out what appeared to be the boots of what he could only assume was the female Black Op. "You're a monster." Karl stated turning back to face Tom, eyes shining with fury, "Nothing you say or do will ever convince me otherwise." In truth doubt wormed through his mind, could what he be saying really be true? He had known none of this.

"Keep your thoughts to yourself then, I care nothing for them." Tom bit back sharply, and stalking towards the downed Sentinel undid his bonds, jumping back quickly as Karl tore the last few off himself, ready to kill, only stopping as Tom almost lazily pulled free a Magnum hand gun, strangely solemn. Above the sound of doors sliding open could be heard, and looking up Karl saw a series of observation decks, and from the six different entrances in the six different walls appeared dark cloaked figures.

"I met them in Northern Command; they were the ones which killed Fred and Jade." Tom explained as they tossed back their hoods, exposing ghastly pale faces, stained with the blood of countless past slaughters. "The Cloven. I feared them at first, but then I began to understand. I've made a deal with the devil, of that I have no illusions, Karl. But let me tell you this, I would make a deal with a thousand devils to see England restored, the new powers I've learned to control can do that, all they require is a sacrifice."

"Us." Karl stated, looking at each Cloven in turn "They wanted you to kill your old squad before joining theirs?"

"In a way, it's more a ritual than anything else." and with a flick of his wrist a knife appeared in Tom's hand "It's just you and me, Karl; the others are only here to watch."

The two stood opposite, staring daggers. Tom dancing his knife around his fingers with casual ease, licking his bloodless lips, Karl breathing deeply, shoving aside his past injuries, drawing his own slightly smaller but still deadly combat knife. He took one last look at Lina, and then closing his eyes put her and all other distractions out of mind, focusing on the objective, to kill, to avenge Daniel, Jack and Steve. That was all that mattered.

Yelling Karl charged, knife before him like a bayonet, and in one last step lunged, blade sliding with almost sickening ease into Tom's body. The traitor staggered, staring intently at his stomach and the weapon now lodged there. He stumbled back, but did not fall, the expanding patch of blood slowing and after several moments stopped, and in three smooth movements Tom pulled the blade free, reversed it, and ran it into Karl's abdomen. More shocked than hurt, the Sentinel could only stare at Tom in disbelief; hands gripping the hilt of the weapon, tears coming to his eyes as he pulled three inches of solid steel free, whimpering as he did so. "Impossible…" he muttered, staring at the man, Tom's wound closing even as he watched.

Tom didn't give him a chance to say anything further. Darting forward he punched and slashed, fist and blade moving fast as lightning, Karl just barely managing to get his own knife up in time, fighting for his life with one hand while clasping his wound with the other, losing blood and ground with every step. Narrowly avoiding a fatal lunge Karl slipped past his enemy's guard, stabbing him in the shoulder, but Tom simply shrugged it off, kneeing him in the face and spun, catching Karl twice more across the sides, casting him back.

Without a word they met again, sparks flying as the blades locked. With a bone crunching crack Tom head-butted Karl back, only for him to in turn grab Tom by the throat, bringing him down in an impressive throw. But upon landing the man twisted, and grabbing the Sentinel pulled him down with him, both tumbling to the floor in a clash of steel, fist and pain alike. Gripping him by the wrist Karl tried desperately to wrench the knife from Tom's hands, but he proved incredibly strong, too much for him. Countering the move Tom twisted Karl's hand, adding yet further slashes to him with his still free arm, and after a brief struggle threw the Black Op off him.

Pain wracking his body Karl rose to meet him again, but Tom only assailed him with more blows, well and truly on the warpath now, overwhelming his opponent utterly. In a last ditch attempt to stop him Karl hurled his weapon, angling straight for Tom's head. The knife struck, and there was a sudden pause, both men staring at the wound; Tom lowering the hand which he raised to defend himself, knife driven right through. Suddenly Tom laughed, and pulling the blade free, ran his tongue along its side, savoring the taste, and still shrieking like a hyena hurled the weapon aside.

It's didn't take long after that, Tom advancing on Karl like an unstoppable dreadnought, pounding the Black Op so hard it made his head spin, a small shove all it took to send him to the ground. Weakly Karl tried to clamber back up, to resume his attack. But Tom was already there, blocking the single blow he managed to raise in his defense. "Face it Karl, there's nothing you can do." a fist going into his stomach "After all…" another fist "you're still…" a third "only…" a fourth "…human." And with a hiss Tom kicked Karl in the stomach, sending him skidding to the ground.

Chest heaving Tom stood over the Sentinel's crumpled body, knife disappearing as quickly as it had come. Pulling out his Magnum he opened up the barrel, six golden bullets like precious bird eggs huddled inside. "I hope you're watching, Karl." He added nudging the man with his boot as he stepped over him, preparing to put a bullet in Lina's skull. Victory was his, and with Karl down Lina served no other purpose than to be one more torture Karl would have to suffer before he himself died.

But Tom did not turn to see Lina, bound and helpless, but free and inches from his face, dark eyes shining with all the darkness of a demon. "Dropping the knife," she murmured almost seductively into his ear, "Was a foolish mistake." Words soft, yet laced with venom, and with that she ran Karl's blade straight through his heart, hand slipping the other knife out of his belt, and spinning around drove both weapons into his chest, twisting and ripping.

Groaning, Karl pulled himself up just in time to witness Lina kicking the corpse to the ground, stepping over the body as casually as one does a puddle. It was the first good look Karl had got of her, and it was only now he realized the beating Tom must have given her. Blue, black and purple bruises were anywhere there was skin, dried blood coating her like a robe. Even with the Chimera virus it was a wonder she was still standing, the strain alone would have sent any ordinary soldier into shock.

Lina seemed to walk towards him in slow motion, each slow step of her boots as if underwater, her long black hair swaying in time, utterly clueless to what rose behind her. Shrieking and blood splattered Tom came up from the floor like a nightmarish statue of liberty, bathed in red, eyes pure golden fire, unyielding, unseeing, unholy. There was no trace of humanity left, nothing to link Tom to the man he had once been, something inside him had broken, and in a single punch the beast sent Lina crashing into the wall.

Choking as she rose Lina looked up at the monstrosity, a hybrid of all that was wrong with humanity and Chimera. Without even glancing she tossed one of her knives to Karl, and in unison they charged, driving straight for the leviathan. The pair attacked it like nothing else, poetry in motion. Karl had always been handy with a knife, and despite the pain moved faster than he ever had before, and Lina with her reflexes enhanced by the virus seemed to glide rather than step into every move. Together the two should have been able overwhelm any single threat that stood before them, yet alone one unarmed.

But this monster was beyond any single threat, far beyond. It's hands like crimson hellfire blocked, parried and deflected every single blow which came its way, the dozens of fresh gashes and gouges appearing there bubbling and fizzing, healing over almost as soon as they appeared. Not even caring for their resistance the beast continued to advance; taking the endless storm of slashes and stabs without a murmur. Leaning back the monster punched, and with a cry Lina staggered, clutching her side, her attack faltering. Karl tried to cover her, only to be slammed back himself, boots steaming with friction as he tried to stay on his feet, struggling not to double over in pain.

Now spilt up they flung themselves at its flanks, striking from his left and right, attempting to bring the titan down. But even pressed on two sides the remnant of what was Tom defeated them utterly, moving like a golem, stoic as stone. Lashing out Karl was caught across the chest, a single kick knocking him to the floor, monster looming over him, its fist preparing to extinguish his life. Lina sneered, out of hatred of the beast or Karl's failure unknown, and leaped onto the beast's back.

Blade gripped between her hands she drove down, forcing the knife into the creature's spine. The steel bit deep, but in a flash the monster had Lina by the neck, blasting her into a support column, knocking Karl back as he attempted to intervene. Trying to call on energy reserves which just weren't there the Sentinel attempted to rise, and failed, his legs jelly. Berating himself inside his head he tried again. He was about to lose all that was left of his team, all because he couldn't get on his damn feet!

Blue eyes fixed on Lina's struggles, Karl's hands ran along the grill like floor, attempting to summon the strength and coordination to drag himself back up. Still staggering the Sentinel's felt his hand brush something smooth and sleek, and looking down saw what was possibly the most welcome sight ever, Tom's discarded Magnum. Snatching it up Karl rolled and fired, the sting of gunpowder lashing across his face as one after the other each bullet ploughed through the creature's skull. It never even knew what hit it, and with a final blood curdling screech the beast...Tom fell dead.

The room was filled with silence, as if a void had sucked up all sound when the monster died. Lina, slowly and painfully pulled herself to her feet, face grim, left arm hanging limply at her side. Karl slowly lowered the Magnum, a small flat smile coming to his face, this time it was truly over, this time it was truly done.

Both Sentinels were snapped out of their thoughts by the sound of many Bullseye's cocking. Lina and Karl looking up to see the Cloven's weapons now raised, voices rising in a recurring chant, eyes flashing gold. Heads flicking back and forth as they looked for an escape route, a way out. But they were surrounded on all sides and almost entirely unarmed, nothing nearby would save them for long.

The moment seemed to stretch out, seconds turning into minutes. Lina and Karl back to back as they faced down the circle of Cloven. Karl's eyes darted from one to the other, waiting for the inevitable signal, legs tensing ready to make a run for it. If he could draw their fire, Lina might have a shot at escape, he wouldn't be getting far in any case, his body was literally held together by suit and spirit.

But something suddenly changed; the silent immobile Cloven shuddered, as if a cold thought had run across their minds. They lowered their weapons, glancing left and right, as if confused, as if they sensed something none of them could understand. Lina behind him breathed in, hand going to her head, what was happening?

Abruptly every Cloven clutched their heads, dropping their weapons, stumbling back and forth, some falling to their knees, others gouging at their wrists, all of them screaming. Karl nearly collapsed under the weight of it, the horrible symphony of unearthly shrieks filling his ears and digging into his skull. Lina, behind him was little better, clutching her own head, clearly in torment. Karl grabbed her, trying to keep her steady, she was muttering under her breath.

"The voices, they're in pain, I can't shut them out." She whispered, as the room began to shake, a deep slow rumble extending from above, below, left and right, surrounding them from all sides. The lights flickered and the hum of electricity faltered, and all the while the Cloven screamed above them. Unable to understand but knowing this might be their only chance of mistake Karl grabbed Lina, forcing his arm around her neck, pulling her close. Step after unsteady step, they moved to the exit.

"Come on, Lina," he said as they moved "Let's get out of here."

[----------]

The escape from the tower was a hellish nightmare which Karl was reluctant to recall even in later days. The entire structure shook with every step, metal and debris falling from the roof all around them, explosions and fires seemed to happen at every corner, and above all this were the Chimera, no longer a military, but a mass of animals. Hybrids butchered at themselves and one another, fired weapons wildly into the air and ground, howling all the while. Through all this stumbled Karl and Lina, burned by the heat, scarred from the shrapnel, and desperately seeking a way out.

Outside the tower took on the appearance of a beautiful blossoming flower, a thousand violent pinpricks of light appearing on the structure's colossal hide as fire vented from every entrance, bay and window. Explosions ripped the thing apart from the inside out, ground shaking with tremors which could be felt for miles around. And all the while the building was glowing brighter, pure blinding light which engulfed all of London.

The building, so alien and yet so magnificent, gave one last shudder and then exploded, a shockwave sent out in all directions. Outside humans and Chimera alike looked away from their fighting to stare, the former giving out a mighty cheer, the latter collapsing to their knees as they were driven mad from the loss of the Angels. Unknown to both parties, this event was being repeated all across Britain, a mighty back surge travelling back through the power conduits and frying every last tower in the nation. In less than one hour the Chimera were little more than a pile of corpses on the streets, humanity had won.

Karl watched the explosion from the cockpit of the wrecked Buzzard dropship he had commandeered, grounded in the far outreaches of London, chassis crushed, concrete underneath torn asunder. A great plume of smoke had risen where the building had been; as if its remnants were still trying to hold together a shadow of their former glory, but it mattered little. The tower, the red structure was gone, forever.

[----------]

It took many hours for the two to be found. Both the American and British armed forces were a mess, and with Karl rigging the Buzzard's computer to only transmit in Morse, it would take a specially trained radio operator to find them. Finally the form of an American VTOL floated into view, hovering above the Buzzard cautiously. The helicopter seemed to stay in the air for the longest time, and then slowly turning its nose about settled down onto the road beside the crashed transport. Stepping out of the craft Karl went around to meet the new arrivals, and was without warning attacked!

Karl didn't even get a chance to grunt before he on the ground, pinned by the figure he could not see. Karl struggled, but the shadow was too strong, and slowly but surely Karl felt its hands going to his head, grasp his hair and...

Ruffle it...?

"You're alive!" Jack yelled joyfully, eyes filled with elation. Karl blinked, the black shadow merging into that of the young Sentinel. His suit had been dismantled to the waist, showing chunks of hair missing, a patched eye and his entire chest completely swathed in bandages, bruises and burns all over him. Karl could only stare in shock, and then his face reflected a small smile of his own.

"Good to see you Jack," Karl replied, patting him on the shoulder, and then in a single shove tossed him off "But not that good." He added as an afterthought. He was almost back onto his feet when he was nearly bowled over for a second time, this time in the form of a slap on the back from Steve, the big man coming up behind him. He looked almost as bad as Jack. One of his arms was in a sling, half his armour was slag and his helmet had been cleaved in two somewhere along the line, the remainder still sitting on top of his head.

"Glad to have you back Captain." The big man said with a grin of his own, both men glancing to see Jack attempt to give Lina a hug, but failing spectacularly. "Did you get him?" he asked quietly in reference to Tom as they stared at Lina beating Jack up, complete with Russian swear words. Karl just nodded, and the pair of them said nothing more.

"Captain Manex?" A familiar voice said, making Karl jump. He turned around slowly and stared as he witnessed Major Blake, leader of SPRA step out of the still running VTOL. Neither a handsome looking man nor a strong one but with a presence which demanded respect. Karl hadn't seen him in over six months, but he would have recognized his voice anywhere.

"Come on in, Karl, I need to talk to you. Alone" he added as Steve went to follow him. Puzzled, but giving a confidant nod to his friend Karl stumbled clumsily over to the waiting helicopter, welcoming the helping hand Blake offered him with visible relief. Collapsing into a seat Karl breathed a deep breath, and slowly opening his eyes gave Blake a nod to show he was okay

"Karl, I've been going over your reports with Intelligence Officer Alexander here," Blake began giving a small nod to his left, and with a start Karl realized they were not alone, a black cloaked figure sitting to his right, who gave a small smile at his reaction. "I can only say that after being so long in the field and infiltrating such key facilities that the guys back at Intelligence will be very eager to debrief you." He summed up with a twitch of his nose, "But there are some things which cannot wait. Did Tom mention anything…classified when he went rogue, something you may want to tell us?"

Karl was too tired to even think of lying "Tom, told me things, about the virus, about how he had been selected, what was happening to him…" he trailed off, letting the sentence hang. Both Alexander and Blake exchanged a glance, that was indeed what they had indeed been referring to.

"That simplifies matters." Blake replied shaking his head "To be frank Karl, a lot of what Tom told you was probably correct, though certainly not the way I'd break the news." He added with a touch of bitterness "Almost a year ago began Project Abraham, trying to find a cure for what we now know as the Chimeran virus. The Alpha group took losses, but was ultimately a success, the Grayskin with which your mission was involved one of its participants. The Beta group included Lina and Tom as well as ten others, the final prototype for the Sentinel Program."

"Sentinel Program?" Karl said, not understanding "I don't follow, Sir."

"Despite what you've been told, these operations have been merely a precursor to the final phase of Project Abraham. The next wave will be the true Sentinels, capable of rapid regeneration and improved combat abilities thanks to the Chimeran virus. And Karl," he added "We want you to be the first."

To say Karl was stunned would be an understatement, flinching as if struck "They wanted him to willingly be injected with the virus, to practically commit himself to death or worse, to sacrifice part of his humanity to these people. Could he do that, after he had seen firsthand what might happen? Looking into the distance Karl's eyes locked on Lina, Jack and Daniel. Blake seemed to guess what he was thinking.

"I can understand your hesitation; especially after all you've been through, no doubt you see two of your comrades dead because of us." Blake summarized, speaking softly "All I can say in our defence is this. America is in dire straits, Karl. Intelligence predicts a large scale invasion in less than two years, and we need every weapon we can muster, that includes the Sentinels. I won't force anything on you Karl," he assured "It's your choice. I respect what you've done too much to do anything else."

"Well I..." Karl began and then stopped, torn. On one hand, his contribution could mean the difference between humanity's survival and total annihilation, but on the other hand could he really join something which sought to use him as a living weapon? He looked at his gloved hands, still stained with blood, and remembered once more cradling the dying Daniel in his arms, and with that he made his decision.

"I've had to do a lot of things I'm not proud of these last few days." Karl murmured shaking his head, eyes downcast "I've killed other human beings when I should have been helping them, my mistakes led to the death of a friend and comrade..." But then his eyes flashed up, locking with Blake's "I'll take my team; you can keep your virus."

"You trust them?" Blake asked questionably "Even after what happened with Tom? After what happened at Norwich?"

Slowly Karl's gaze turned once more to look out the VTOL's door. To one side was Lina, with her long dark hair and sharp but lean body, capable of skinning a shark with her voice alone. To her right was Jack, with his wild young hair and a trickster's grin, always on the edge of a joke. And on the other side of him was Steve, a mass of well toned muscles with a no nonsense attitude. Karl glanced over all of them, and slowly leaned back into his chair, arms behind his head.

"I trust them," he murmured "With the world."


End file.
